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TRANSACTIONS 


OF  THE 


ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 


EDITED  BY   THE 

REV.   CHARLES   ROGERS,   LL.D. 

HISTORIOGRAPHER    TO    THE     ROYAL    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY  ;     FELLOW    OF    THE 

SOCIETY  OF  ANTIQUARIES  OF  SCOTLAND  ;  AND  CORRESPONDING  MEMBER 

OF  THE   HISTORICAL  AND   GENEALOGICAL  SOCIETY  OF 

NEW  ENGLAND 


VOL.    IV. 


LONDON 

PRINTED   FOR  THE   ROYAL   HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

1876 


PREFACE. 


A  CHIEF  design  entertained  by  the  founders  of  the  Royal 
Historical  Society  to  procure  materials  for  history  from  un- 
explored or  recondite  sources,  is  in  a  great  measure  realised 
in  the  Papers  which  constitute  the  present  volume.  It  is  the 
constant  aim  of  the  Council  to  secure  such  contributions  as 
may  promote  discussion  at  the  Monthly  Meetings  and  at 
the  same  time  prove  useful  in  the  permanent  record  of  the 
Society's  Transactions.  Since  the  publication  of  vol.  iii. 
the  number  of  Fellows  has  increased  from  383  to  466.  A 
Library,  supplied  by  the  contributions  of  Members,  has  been 
opened  at  the  Society's  Rooms. 

CHARLES  ROGERS, 

Historiographer. 


SOCIETY'S  ROOMS, 

ii  CHANDO^  STREET,  CAVENDISH  SQUARE,  W., 
December  1875. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

PREFACE,    .........  ii 

LIST  OF  FELLOWS,  .......  v 

HISTORICAL  NOTICES  AND  CHARTERS  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.    By 

EDMUND  CHISHOLM-BATTEN,  Esq.,  F.R.S.E.,  i 

No.  I.  Bulla  Gregorii  Papse  Priori  de  Bello  Loco  Ordinis  Vallis- 

caulium  Rossensis  Diocoesis.  Ex  Autographo  [1231],  .  13 

,,  II.  Carta  Willielmi  Byseth  de  Ecclesia  de  Aberterth  Facta 
Fratribus  de  Bello  Loco  Ordinis  Valliscaulium.  Ex  Au- 
tographo [1231],  .  .  .  .  .32 

,,  III.  Carta  Andrese  Moraviensis  Episcopi  de  Decimis  Garbarum 

et  Salmonum  Parochiae  de  Abertarff,  ...  36 

,,  IV.  Carta  Laurentii  Militis,  Filij  Patricij  Janitoris  de  Innernes 

Priori  de  Bello  Loco.  Ex  Autographo  [1255],  .  .  46 

,,  V.  Carta  Magistri  Henrici  de  Tottyngham  Priori  de  Bello  Loco. 

Ex  Autographo  1274,  .  .  .  .  .  53 

,,  VI.  Carta  David  de  Innerlunan  de  Terra  de  Auchterwaddalle 
seu  Onachterwadale  ex  Dono  Gillechrist  Macgilleduffi 
Fratribus  de  Bello  Loco.  Ex  Autographo  [c.  1275],  .  '  56 

IMMANUEL  KANT  IN  HIS  RELATION  TO  MODERN  HISTORY.    By  Gus- 

TAVUS  GEORGE  ZERFFI,  Esq.,  Ph.D.,  F.R.S.L.,  F.R.H.S.,  .          75 

THE  HISTORY  OF  LAN"DHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.     By  JOSEPH  FISHER, 

Esq.,  F.R.H.S.,         .......  97 

I.  The  Aborigines,  ......         103 

II.  The  Romans,     .......         105 

III.  The  Scandinavians,        ......         108 

IV.  The  Normans,    .  .  .  .  .  .  .         117 

V.  The  Plantagenets,          .  .  .  .  .  .132 

vi.  The  Tudors,       .  ...  .  v    .  .144 

vn.  The  Stuarts,       .  .  .  .  .  .  .163 

vili.  The  House  of  Hanover,  .  .  .  .  .169 


iv  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

ORIENTATION  OF  ANCIENT  TEMPLES  AND  PLACES  OF  WORSHIP.    By 

Captain  CHARLES  WARREN,  R.E.,  F.R.H.S.,         .  .  .188 

HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  THE  CRADLE  OF  HENRY  V.     By  WILLIAM 

WATKINS  OLD,  Esq.,  F.R.H.S.,       .....        231 

MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART,  THE  SCOTTISH  MARTYR.  WITH  HIS 
TRANSLATION  OF  THE  HELVETIAN  CONFESSION,  AND  A  GENEA- 
LOGICAL HISTORY  OF  THE  FAMILY  OF  WISHART.  By^the  Rev. 
CHARLES  ROGERS,  LL.D.,  F.R.H.S.,  F. S.A.Scot.,  .  .  260 

Memoir  of  George  Wishart,  .  .  .  .         261 

The  Confession  of  Faith  of  the  Churches  of  Switzerland,    .  .         318 

Genealogical  History  of  the  House  of  Wishart,        .  .  .         329 

DOMESTIC  EVERYDAY  LIFE,  MANNERS,  AND  CUSTOMS  IN  THE  ANCIENT 

WORLD.    By  GEORGE  HARRIS,  LL.D.,  F.S.A.,  F.R.H.S.,  .        364 

HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  JOHN  BUNYAN.     By  GEORGE  HURST,  Esq., 

F.R.H.S.,       .  .  .  .  .  .  .416 

THOMAS  MULOCK  :  AN  HISTORICAL  SKETCH.     By  ELIHU  RICH,  Esq., 

F.R.H.S.,       ........        424 

ST  PROCOP  OF  BOHEMIA  :  A  LEGEND  OF  THE  ELEVENTH  CENTURY. 

By  the  Rev.  A.  H.  WRATISLAW,  F.R.H.S.,  .  .  -439 


FELLOWS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY, 


Rev.  James  Swift  Abbott. 

Right  Honourable  Lord  Aberdare. 

B.  St  John  Ackers,  Esq. 

G.  Brindley  Acworth,  Esq.,  F.S.A. 

Lieut. -Colonel  Edward  Akroyd,  M.P., 

F.S.A. 

William  E.  Akroyd,  Esq. 
Arthur  Albright,  Esq. 
Colonel  W.  R.  Alexander. 
Major-General  A.  Stewart  Allan,  F.S.A. 

Scot. 

A.  Allen,  Esq. 
Charles  J.  Allen,  Esq. 
Dr  Altschul,  F.R.G.S.,  M.Philol.  Soc., 

etc. 

J.  R.  W.  Anderson,  Esq. 
Frank  Andrew,  Esq. 
William  Andrews,  Esq. 
William  Annand,  Esq. 
Professor  Charles  E.  Anthon,  Honorary. 
Thomas  Ashton,  Esq. 
Thomas  Aspden,  Esq. 
Alfred  Aspland,  Esq. 
Colonel  Thomas  Atchison. 
Josiah  Atwool,  Esq. 
Henry  M  'Lauchlan  Backler,  Esq. 
Rev.  G.  R.  Badenoch,  LL.D. 
John  E.  Bailey,  Esq. 
J.  W.  Baines,  Esq. 
C.  W.  Barkley,  Esq. 
H.  C.  Barlow,  Esq.,  M.D. 
John  Barnard,  Esq. 
J.  Barnes,  Esq. 
T.  Squire  Barrett,  Esq. 
Miss  Isabel  Bateman. 
Rev.   Joseph   Chad  wick   Bates,    M.A., 

F.R.A.S. 

Rev.  W.  H.  Bathurst. 
W.  J.  Beach,  Esq. 
Thomas  Belk,  Esq. 
J.  Carter  Bell,  Esq.,  F.C.S.,  etc. 
C.  Bennett,  Esq. 
Captain  H.  A.  Bennett. 
Mrs  Angell  Bezzi. 
Lewis  Biden,  Esq. 
William  Thomas  Black,  Esq. 
William  Harnett  Blanch,  Esq. 
Right  Honourable  Lord  de  Blaquiere. 
A.  Wynter-Blyth,  Esq. 
F.  C.  Bodenham,  Esq. 
John  J.  Bond,  Esq. 
T.  J.  C.  L.  Bordman,  Esq. 
Right  Honourable  Lord  Borthwick. 
Lady  Bowring. 
Rev.  J.  Boyes. 

Edmund  Montagu  Boyle,  Esq. 
William  Bragge,  Esq.,  F.S.A. 


lev.  George  Weare  Braikenridge,  A.M., 

F.S.A.  Scot, 
saac  Braithwaite,  Esq. 
Edward  Herbert  Bramley,  Esq. 
Thomas  Bramley,  Esq. 
".  Bramley-Moore,  Esq.,  D.L. 
7.  J.  Bramwell,  Esq. 
William  Hutton  Brayshay,  Esq. 
"ohn  A.  Bremner,  Esq. 
Richard  Brewer,  Esq. 
rion.  and  Rev.  J.  R.  O.  Bridgeman. 

harles  Bridges,  Esq. 
[ohn  Potter  Briscoe,  Esq. 
H.  Brittain,  Esq. 
T.  C.  Brooke,  Esq. 
Barnard  P.  Broomhead,  Esq. 
Cornelius  Brown,  Esq. 
[.  Foster  Brown,  Esq. 
R.  Weir  Brown,  Esq. 
Edward  Browne,  Esq. 
George  Browning,  Esq. 

.  H.  W.  Buck,  Esq. 
Joseph  Burrell,  Esq. 
H.  Burton,  Esq. 

John  Hill  Burton,  Esq.,  LL.D.,  Hon. 
William  Samuel  Burton,  Esq. 
Rev.   William  Cadman,  Prebendary   of 

St  Paul's. 
N.  A.  Calvo,  Esq. 
The  Marquis  de  Campobianco. 
W.  Cann,  Esq. 
John  B.  Cardale,  Esq. 
Thomas  Cardwell,  Esq. 
George  F.  Carnell,  Esq. 
George  Causton,  Esq. 
Thomas  Cave,  Esq.,  M.P. 
John  Chappell,  Esq. 
The  Lord  Bishop  of  Chester. 
David  Chinery,  Esq.,  F.R.G.S.,  etc. 
H.  B.  K.  Chorley,  Esq. 
Thomas  Chorlton,  Esq. 
George  Clifton,  Esq. 
William  Clode,  Esq. 
Thomas  Close,  Esq.,  F.S.A. 
James  C.  Clough,  Esq. 
James  Edwin  Cole,  Esq. 
Everard  Home  Coleman,  Esq. ,  F.  R.  A.  S ., 

F.R.G.S. 

Jesse  Ceilings,  Esq. 
William  Job  Collins,  Esq. 
Henry  Collinson,  Esq. 
J.  Monsey  Collyer,  Esq. 
John  Colston,  Esq. 
Rev.  John  Compston. 
Congress  Library,  Washington,  U.S. 
Eugene  A.  Conwell,  Esq. 
Faithful  Cookson,  Esq. 


VI 


FELLOWS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 


John  Corbett,  Esq. 

Samuel  E.  Cottam,  Esq. 

George  Courtauld,  Esq. 

Rev.  Samuel  Cowdy,  LL.D. 

J.  M.  Cowper,  Esq. 

George  R.  Cox,  Esq. 

J.  Charles  Cox,  Esq. 

Henry  W.  E.  Crofton,  Esq. 

James  Croston,  Esq.,  F. S.A. 

George  Cruikshank,  Esq. 

Alfred  Crutwell,  Esq.,  F.G.S. 

Rev.  Alfred  Hayman  Cummings. 

J.  E.  Cussans,  Esq. 

General   the    Hon.    Sir  Edward   Cust, 

K.C.H.,  D.C.L. 
John  A.  Dalziel,  Esq. 
J.  W.  Dangar,  Esq. 
Rev.  T.  W.  Davids. 
William  James  Davidson,  Esq. 
Robert  Davies,  Esq. 
C.  R.  Davy,  Esq. 
Thomas  Dawson,  Esq. 
Robert  Richardson  Dees,  Esq. 
Rev.  B.  Dickson,  D.D. 
G.  Wingfield  Digby,  Esq. 
John  Gartside  Dimelow,  Esq. 
James  Dixon,  Esq. 
R.  W.  Dixon,  Esq.,  D.L. 
Edward  C.  Doggett,  Esq. 
Rev.  John  S.  Doxey,  M.A. 
Joseph  Drew,  Esq.,  LL.D.,  F.R.A.S., 

F.G.S.Lond. 

James  D.  Edgar,  Esq.,  Canada. 
William  Emslie,  Esq. 
Royle  Entwisle,  Esq. 
William  Erskine,  Esq. 
E.  Bickerton  Evans,  Esq. 
H.  Russell  Evans,  Esq. 
W.  Evans,  Esq. 

William  Fair,  Esq.,  M.D.,  F.R.S. 
C.  Duffell  Faulkner,  Esq. 
Charles  R.  Federer,  Esq. 
Robert  Ferguson,  Esq.,  M.P. 
Hamilton  Field,  Esq. 
Joseph  Fisher,  Esq. 
Lieut. -Colonel  H.  Fishwick. 
Edwin  F.  Fitch,  Esq.- 
John  Rawlinson  Ford,  Esq. 
Colonel  Lane  Fox. 
J.  A.  Froude,  Esq.,  LL.D. 
Colonel  J.  G.  R.  Furlong,  F.R.S.E.,  etc. 
Clement  S.  Best  Gardner,  Esq. 
John     Ribton     Garstin,     Esq.,     M.A., 

F.S.A.,  M.R.I.A. 
Alfred  Scott  Gatty,  Esq. 
Henri  Gausseron,  Esq.,  B.A. 
G.  Lawrence  Gomme,  Esq. 
H.  G.  Gotch,  Esq. 
Frederick  Gould,  Esq. 
The  Right  Hon.  Lord  Ronald  Gower. 
J.  Graham,  Esq. 
William  Grain,  Esq. 


H.  Sydney  Grazehook,  Esq. 

Richard  C.  Griffith,  Esq.,  F.R.G.S.,  etc. 

Dr  Charles  F.  Grindrod. 

R.  B.  Grindrod,  Esq.,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  etc. 

Henry  Guest,  Esq.,  Jun. 

R.  Sandon  Gutteridge,  Esq.,  M.D. 

John  Haddock,  Esq. 

Alderman  S.  C.  Hadley. 

R.  G.  Haliburton,  Esq. 

Rev.  Dunbar  Stuart  Halkett,  M.A. 

Hugh  F.  Hall,  Esq. 

H.  L.  Hammack,  Esq. 

Stephen Harlowe  Harlowe,  Esq.,  F.G.S. 

Joseph  Hartley,  Esq. 

George  Harris,  Esq.,  LL.D.,  F.S.A. 

J.  Harris  Heal,  Esq. 

Edward  Charles  Healey,  Esq. 

Henry  Healey,  Esq. 

Thomas  Heath,  Esq. 

John    Deakin    Heaton,     Esq.,     M.D., 

F.R.C.P. 

Henry  Heginbotham,  Esq. 
J.  G.  Hepburn,  Esq. 
William  C.  Hepburn,  Esq. 
William  Herbage,  Esq.,  Treasurer. 
James  Heywood,  Esq.,  F.R.S. 
James  Higgin,  Esq. 
James  Higson,  Esq. 
George  W.  Hill,  Esq. 
J.  W.  Hill,  Esq.,  M.  A.,  Trin.  Coll.,  Cam. 
William  Hinmers,  Esq. 
Professor  Edward  Hitchcock. 
A.  S.  Hobson,  Esq. 
Thomas  Hodgkin,  Esq. 
J.  Satchell  Hopkins,  Esq. 
Charles  Hood,  Esq.,  F.R.S.,  F.R.A.S., 

etc. 

George  N.  Hooper,  Esq. 
Frederick  Hovenden,  Esq. 
Robert  Hovenden,  Esq. 
Fretwell  M.  Hoyle,  Esq. 
Edward  Hudson,  Esq. 
William  Hughes,  Esq. 
William  Hunt,  Esq. 
tienry  Hunter,  Esq. 
[onathan  Hutchinson,  Esq. 
Robert  Hopwood  Hutchison,  Esq. 
jeorge  Hurst,  Esq. 
[ohn  Hyde,  Esq. 
Edwin  Buckley  Ingham,  Esq. 
rlenry  B.  Jackson,  Esq. 
1.  R.  Jacson,  Esq. 
3.alph  N.  James,  Esq. 
*ev.  T.  James,  F.S.A. 
Walter  Knight  James,  Esq. 
'.  M.  Jeffcott,  Esq. 
Frederick  J.  Jeffrey,  Esq.,  F.G.H.S. 
3.  G.  Jenkins,  Esq. 

ienry  Irwin  Jenkinson,  Esq.,  F.R.G.S. 
Jewellyn  Jewett,  Esq. 
ibenezer  Septimus  Jobson,  Esq. 
abez  Johnson,  Esq. 


FELLOWS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 


Vll 


David  Jones,  Esq. 

Henry  Watson  Jones,  Esq. 

James  Judd,  Esq.,  F.S.A. 

William  Kelly,  Esq. 

H.  A.  B.  Kendrick,  Esq.,  F.C.A.S. 

Frederick  Kent,  Esq. 

C.  B.  Ker,  Esq. 

Abraham  Kidd,  Esq.,  M.D.,  M.R.I. A. 

Rev.  Edward  King. 

Henry  S.  King,  Esq. 

Kelburne  King,  Esq. 

J.  A.  Langford,  Esq.,  LL.D. 

William  Lawton,  Esq. 

John  Walter  Lea,  Esq.,  F.G.S. 

John  Dunkin  Lee,  Esq. 

William  Lees,  Esq. 

Joseph  Hyam  Levy,  Esq. 

Right   Rev.   the  Bishop  of   Limerick, 

M.R.I.A. 

Lieut. -Colonel  Edward  Lloyd. 
Rev.  George  Lloyd,  F.S.A. 
The  Most  Hon.  the  Marquess  of  Lome. 
Henry  Lonsdale,  Esq. 
John  D.  Loverdo,  Esq.,  F.R.S.L. 
Sir  John  Lubbock,  Bart.,  M.P. 
Augustus  W.  H.  Ludemann,  Esq. 
Henry  Lupton,  Esq. 
W.  C.  Lucy,  Esq. 
W.   C.   Lucy,  Esq.,  Jun.,  B.A.,  Trin. 

Coll.,  Oxon. 
Thomas  Lyle,  Esq. 
G.  E.  Lyon,  Esq. 
H.  C.  Maxwell  Lyte,  Esq. 
W.  Macandrew,  Esq. 
J.  W.  M'Cardie,  Esq.  of  Newpark. 
Justin  M'Carthy,  Esq. 
Laurence  T.  M'Ewen,  Esq. 
Patrick  Comyn  Macgregor,  Esq. 
Henry  Ramsay  Mackay,  Esq. 
J.  M.  Mackay,  Esq. 
Thomas  R.  Mackay,  Esq. 
Alexander  Mackie,  Esq. 
C.  S.  Mackintosh,  Esq. 
William  Maclean,  Esq.,  F.G.S. 
C.  M'Niven,  Esq. 
J.  A.  Macpherson,  Esq. 
Edward  Makeson,  Esq. 
Robert  Malcomson,  Esq.,  M.A. 
J.  Manuel,  Esq. 

Rev.  Canon  Marsden,  B.D.,  M.R.S.L. 
James  Maw,  Esq. 
John  Thomas  Maybank,  Esq. 
John  Mayhall,  Esq. 
Henry  Maynard,  Esq. 
Barr    C.    J.    Meadows,    Esq.,    M.D., 

F.A.S.L. 
Sir  James  Meek. 
Ludwig  Messel,  Esq. 
H.  E.  Michelson,  Esq. 
Mrs  Everett  Millais. 
Joseph  Milligan,  Esq. 
Henry  F.  Mills,  Esq. 


Rev.  Canon  Milman,  M.A. 

M.  Moggridge,  Esq. 

William  Molyneux,  Esq.,  F.G.S. 

George  Moore,  Esq. 

Major  Richard  William  Moore. 

Benjamin    Moran,   Esq.,    Secretary    of 

American  Legation,  Honorary, 
Thomas  Morgan,  Esq. 
R.  J.  Morrison,  Esq. 
George  Moseley,  Esq.,  F.G.S. 
John  James  Moss,  Esq. 
John  L.  Motley,  Esq.,  Honorary. 
James  Murton,  Esq. 
George  W.  Napier,  Esq. 
William  Magson  Nelson,  Esq. 
E.  Oakley  Newman,  Esq. 
George  W.  Nichols,  Esq. 
J.  F.  Nicholls,  Esq. 
John  Spenser  Noldritt,  Esq. 
G.  M.  Norris,  Esq. 
James  Nowell,  Esq.,  M.R.C.Lond. 
William  O'Donnaven,  Esq.,  LL.D. 
Robert  Parr  Oglesby,  Esq. 
William  Watkins  Old,  Esq. 
Brian  O'Looney,  Esq.,  M.R.I. A. 
B.  B.  Orridge,  Esq.,  F.G.S. 
Rev.  J.  Douglas  Page,  A.M. 
P.  S.  Page,  Esq. 
William  D.  Paine,  Esq. 
W.  M.  Parker,  Esq. 
Eugene  de  la  Penha,  Esq. 
John    Samuel    Phene,     Esq.,    LL.D., 

F.R.G.S.,  F.G.S. 
J.  Pickering,  Esq.,  F.R.G.S. 
William  J.  D.  Pink,  Esq. 
Mrs  A.  D.  Pollard. 
Frank  Pooley,  Esq. 
Edward  Power,  Esq. 
John  Prankerd,  Esq. 
John  P.  Prendergast,  Esq. 
William  Nicholson  Price,  Esq. 
Robert  Taylor  Pritchett,  Esq. 
John  Rae,  Esq.,  LL.D.,  F.S.A. 
James  Ramsbotham,  Esq. 
General  J6hn  Meredith  Read,  LL.B., 

M.R.I.A. 

Arthur  G.  Rich,  Esq. 
William  Rider,  Esq. 
B.  W.  Richardson,  Esq.,  M.D.,  F.R.S. 
Charles  Richardson,  Esq.   • 
George  Gibson  Richardson,  Esq. 
John    George    Frederick     Richardson, 

Esq.,  Ph.D.,  F.C.S. 
John  Wigham  Richardson,  Esq. 
James  Robb,  Esq. 
Joseph  B.  Robinson,  Esq. 
William  Robinson,  Esq. 
Sydney  Robjohns,  Esq. 
Charles  Roger,  Esq. 
Rev.  C.  Rogers,  LL.D.,  F.S.A. Scot. 
Rev.  Edward  Rogers,  M.A. 
Rev.  William  H.  Rogers,  D.D. 


Vlll 


FELLOWS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 


J.  Anderson  Rose,  Esq. 

Right  Honourable  the  Earl  of  Rosebery. 

W.  H.  Burch  Rosher,  Esq. 

Lewis  Buttle  Ross,  Esq. 

Charles  Rowley,  Esq. 

Professor  Ruskin,  LL.D.,  F.R.S.E. 

Right  Honourable  Earl  Russell,  K.G. 

P.  Austin  Ryan,  Esq. 

Charles  Ryder,  Esq. 

T.  D.  Ryder,  Esq. 

J.  P.  Rylands,  Esq. 

Samuel  Lee  Rymer,  Esq. 

John  Burham  Safford,  Esq.,  F.G. S. 

William  Salmon,  Esq. 

Thomas  Sampson,  Esq. 

Rev.  S.  J.  W.  Sanders,  M.A.,  F.G.S. 

W.  W.  Sanderson,  Esq. 

Philip  Sayle,  Esq.,  Jun.,  F.S.G. 

Robert  Sayle,  Esq. 

Peter  Schonfeld,  Esq. 

Helmuth  Schwartze,  Esq. 

Simon  T.  Scrope,  Esq. 

Right  Honourable  Lord  Selbome. 

Isaac  Seligman,  Esq. 

Ernest  Seyd,  Esq. 

J.  Fox  Sharp,  Esq. 

Colonel  J.  D.  Shakespear,  F.G.S. 

Rev.  Leonard  Edmund  Shelford. 

F.  R.  F.  Shenton,  Esq. 

J.  Wainhouse  Simpson,  Esq. 

Henry  Duncan  Skrine,  Esq. 

Edward  Solly,  Esq. 

Thomas  Sopwith,  Esq.,  F.R.S.,  F.G.S. 

Rev.  Joseph  Sorrell. 

Don  Carlos  E.  Soto. 

Lieut. -Colonel  Thomas  Sowler. 

Hubert  Smith,  Esq. 

Thomas  William  Toone  Smith,  Esq. 

T.  Cozens  Smith,  Esq.,  F.G.S. 

W.  Bickford  Smith,  Esq. 

Professor  Walter  Smith. 

J.  King  Spark,  Esq. 

James  Frederick  Spurr,  Esq. 

Very  Rev.  Dean  Stanley,  D.D. 

Joseph  Steele,  Esq. 

Alderman  David  H.  Stone. 

J.  B.  Stone,  Esq. 

Edwin  Story,  Esq.,  M.A.,  F.L.S. 

Right    Honourable    Sir    John    Stuart, 

F.S.A.Scot. 

Lieut. -Colonel  W.  Stuart. 
Sir  Edward  Sullivan,  Bart. 
John  Charles  Swallow,  Esq. 
Right    Honourable    Lord    Talbot     de 

Malahide,  M.R.I. A. 
Thomas  Tapling,  Esq. 
William  M.  Tartt,  Esq.,  F.S.S. 
William  R.  Tate,  Esq. 
George  Taylor,  Esq. 
James  Taylor,  Esq. 


Colonel  Meadows  Taylor,  M.R.I. A. 

Rev.  Richard  Vi  Taylor,  B.A. 

Seymour  Teulon,  Esq. 

Rev.  Edmund  Tew,  M.A. 

Christopher  J.  Thomas,  Esq. 

James  Thompson,  Esq. 

Archibald  Travers,  Esq. 

Stephen  Tucker,  Esq.,  Rouge  Croix. 

Thomas  Tully,  Esq. ,  Jun. 

Thomas  Kellet  Tully,  Esq. 

George    M.    Tweddell,     Esq.,    F.S.A. 

Scot. 

Philip  Twells,  Esq.,  M.P. 
Lieut. -General  George  Twemlow,  R.A. 
John  Symonds  Udal,  Esq. 
R.  G.  Underdown,  Esq. 
Mrs  Van  Hagen. 
M.  Ventura,  Esq. 
G.  V.  Vernon,  Esq.,  F.R.A.S. 
J.  A.  Vincent,  Esq. 
Henry  Wadling,  Esq. 
Cornelius  Walford,  Esq.,  F.S.A. 
John  Wallis,  Esq. 
Fountaine  Walker,  Esq.  of  Foyers. 
Rev.  James  Walker. 
Richard  Corker  Walker,  Esq. 
Thomas  F.   W.  Walker,    Esq.,  M.A., 

F.R.G.S. 

Elijah  Walton,  Esq. 
John  Pilkington  Ward,  Esq. 
Captain  C.  Warren,  R.E. 
Robert  Spence  Watson,  Esq.,  F.R.G.S. 
Wm.  H.  Weldon,  Esq. ,  Rouge  Dragon. 
John  Westwood,  Esq. 
Alfred  White,  Esq. 

Rev.  F.  Le  Grix  White,  M.A.,  F.G.S. 
George  White,  Esq. 
William  H.  Whitmore,  Esq. 
Rev.  J.  D.  Williams,  M.A. 
Sparks  Henderson  Williams,  Esq. 
Edward  Wilson,  Esq. 
Oswald  Wilson,  Esq. 
John  Wimbridge,  Esq. 
W.  Winters,  Esq. 

Hon. Robert  C.  Winthrop,  LL.D.,  Hon. 
William  Young  Winthrop,  Esq. 
T.  A.  Wise,  Esq.,  M.D.,  F.S.A.Scot. 
John  Wiseman,  Esq. 
William  Wood,  Esq. 
Rev.    Adolphus    Frederick    Alexander 

Woodford,  M.A. 
Samuel  Woodhouse,  Esq. 
Ashbel  Woodward,  Esq.,  M.D. 
Richard  Woof,  Esq.,  F.S.A. 
Rev.  Albert  H.  Wratislaw,  M.A. 
M.  M.  Bryce  Wright,  Esq.,  Jun. 
Rev.  W.  H.  Wylie. 
Rev.  Charles  J.  Wynne,  M.A.,  Oxon. 
Richard  Yates,  Esq.,  F.S.A. 
Dr  G.  G.  Zerffi. 


TRANSACTIONS 


ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY, 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  AND  CHARTERS  OF  THE 
PRIORY  OF  BEAULY. 

BY  EDMUND  CHISHOLM-BATTEN,  ESQ.,  F.R.S.E. 

IT  is  difficult  now  to  conceive  of  the  rapid  transmission  of 
opinions  and  usages,  which  existed  at  the  time  when  there 
was  but  one  Church  in  Western  Christendom.  As  in  the  age 
of  the  Antonines,  a  fashion  at  Rome  was  soon  taken  up  in 
distant  provinces,  so  during  the  pontificate  of  Innocent  III., 
a  novelty  in  religious  practice  quickly  spread  throughout 
Europe.  The  imperial  roads  and  post-houses  did  not  more 
securely  send  on  the  orders  of  the  reigning  Caesar  to  Alex- 
andria or  York,  than  the  lines  of  convents  and  parsonages 
passed  the  fiat  of  the  occupant  of  St  Peter's  Chair  to  the 
extremity  of  Scotland  or  Spain.  This  is  strongly  exemplified 
in  the  origin  of  the  Priory  of  Beauly,  the  religious  House 
whose  records  are  now  for  the  first  time  collected. 

He  who  would  judge  best  of  the  rigour  of  the  rules  of  St 
Bruno,  should  climb  the  mountain  of  the  Grande  Chartreuse, 
where  the  Saint  established  his  Reformed  order  with  vows  of 
unusual  austerity,  under  the  protection  of  the  Virgin  Mary, 
and  also  of  John  Baptist,  whose  severity  of  life  was  the 


2        TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

pattern.  "  Ora  et  labora "  was  the  ruling  maxim  of  the 
Charterhouse,  and  the  wild  and  desolate  region  in  which  it 
is  built,  compelled  as  well  as  nerved  the  toil  of  the  brethren. 

But  very  soon  was  introduced  a  distinction  between  the 
inmates  of  even  Carthusian  houses ;  and  in  these  monasteries 
as  well  as  others,  the  brethren  were  divided  into  two  classes, 
the  brethren  of  the  choir,  and  the  lay  brethren  (conversi). 
The  first  alone  received  holy  orders,  and  performed  the  func- 
tions of  the  priesthood.  These  offices,  and  study  and  con- 
templation, occupied  their  time ;  while  the  bodily  labour,  both 
domestic  and  agricultural,  prescribed  by  the  rules,  was  the 
duty  only  of  the  lay  brethren. 

Viard,  a  lay  brother  of  the  Charterhouse  of  Louvigny,  in 
the  diocese  of  Langres,  in  Burgundy,  believing  himself  called 
to  a  life  of  more  severity  and  greater  freedom  from  temporal 
cares  than  his  position  of  lay  brother  allowed,  obtained  per- 
mission from  the  superior  to  retire  as  a  hermit  to  a  cavern  in 
a  wood,  a  few  miles  off,  and  there  practised  the  most  extra- 
ordinary austerities.  He  was  discovered  by  the  inhabitants 
of  the  neighbourhood,  and  his  strict  observances  soon  gained 
him  a  just  reputation.  The  Duke  of  Burgundy  came  often 
to  visit  him,  and  at  last  vowed  that  if  success  should  attend 
the  ducal  arms  in  a  military  expedition  then  projected,  a 
monastery  would  be  founded  on  the  spot  which  Viard  had 
made  holy,  and  Viard  should  be  its  head. 

Viard,  like  other  hermits,  and  not  forgetful  of  the  maxims 
of  St  Bruno,  worked  in  his  own  garden,  and  supplied  his 
"  vegetable  store  "  by  his  own  labours.  In  this  way,  probably, 
the  valley  in  which  his  cavern  was  situated  acquired  the  name 
of  Vallis  Caulium,  or  Vallis  Olerum,  the  Valley  of  Herbs. 
The  duke  returning  victorious  from  his  expedition,  built 
the  promised  monastery  in  the  Holy  Vale ;  and  Viard,  as  the 
first  prior,  completed  the  foundation,  and,  according  to  an 
ancient  inscription  over  the  church,  took  up  his  abode  there 
on  the  2d  November  1193.  Viard  framed  a  set  of  rules  for 
the  governance  of  the  new  society,  and  in  the  Register  of  the 
Bishopric  of  Moray,  we  have  these  regulations  set  out  and 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.         3 

approved  by  Innocent  III.,  in  a  Bull  of  protection,  dated  the 
loth  of  February  1205. 

No  house  of  this  order  was  ever  established  in  England, 
but  within  twenty-five  years  from  the  confirmation  of  the  new 
rules  by  Pope  Innocent,  three  houses  of  the  order  were 
founded  in  Scotland,  and  that  too  in  the  extremities  of  that 
kingdom. 

This  was  brought  about  by  William  Malvoisin,  Bishop  of 
St  Andrews.  The  history  of  the  Alexanders,  and  of  William 
the  Lion,  has  yet  to  be  written,  and  when  this  is  done,  full 
justice  will  be  rendered  to  the  character  of  Malvoisin.  Among 
the  band  of  prelates  who  surrounded  the  throne  of  William 
the  Lion,  none  stands  higher  than  Bishop  Malvoisin,  appointed 
before  1 1 80  one  of  the  Clerici  Regis,  or  King's  secretaries. 
It  is  impossible  to  doubt  that  even  before  his  elevation  to 
the  chancellorship,  he  exercised  considerable  influence  over 
the  king.  As  the  first  instance  of  William  insisting  on  the 
election  of  his  own  nominee  as  bishop  takes  place  just  about 
the  time  that  Malvoisin  first  appears  as  the  king's  official, 
it  was  probably  by  his  encouragement  that  the  king  intro- 
duced the  rule  ;  for  it  was  a  principle  established  by  Charle- 
magne, and  strictly  adhered  to  by  the  Norman  kings  of 
England,  that  the  cathedral  chapters,  if  permitted  to  elect, 
should  choose  the  nominees  of  the  Crown  as  their  bishops ; 
and  Malvoisin  was  a  Norman,  and  doubtless  taught  this  lesson 
of  Norman  tyranny,  as  Giraldus  Cambrensis  calls  it,*  to  the 
Scottish  king. 

It  is  probable  that  the  young  councillor  supported  the  king 
in  his  resistance  to  the  Pope,  who  ordered  the  elect  of  the 
chapter  of  St  Andrews  to  be  consecrated  bishop  in  opposition 
to  the  king's  nominee.  The  king  banished  the  bishop  from 
the  kingdom,  and  the  Pope  laid  Scotland  under  an  interdict, 
and  excommunicated  the  king.  But  in  the  end  the  Crown 
prevailed.  And  even  in  the  days  of  Victoria,  the  queen's 
irresistible  recommendation  to  a  bishopric  betokens  its  Nor- 

*  Giraldus  Camb.,  De  Instruct.  Princ.  ;  Robertson's  Preface  to  Stat.  Cone.  Ecc. 
Scot.,  xxxiv.,  n.  2. 


4        TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

man  origin  by  assuming  the  form  of  a  cong6  d'elire,  with 
a  letter-missive  containing  the  name  of  the  person  to  be 
elected.* 

In  September  1199  Malvoisin  was  appointed  Chancellor  of 
Scotland.  When  made  Chancellor  he  was  only  in  deacon's 
orders,  and  not  till  his  election  to  the  bishopric  of  Glasgow 
was  he  advanced  to  the  dignity  of  the  priesthood.  On  Satur- 
day the  24th  September  1200,  he  was  ordained  priest  at  Lyons 
by  the  archbishop  of  that  city ;  and  on  Sunday  the  25th  he 
was  consecrated  bishop  by  the  same  prelate  under  the  man- 
date of  Pope  Innocent  III.  There  is  extant  a  letter  ad- 
dressed by  this  archbishop  to  Malvoisin,  which  shows  how 
anxious  the  latter  was  to  obtain  the  fullest  information  and 
the  best  advice  as  to  the  duties  of  the  episcopal  office  he  had 
just  undertaken.-}-  The  archbishop  suggests  to  Malvoisin  that 
on  his  proposed  stay  at  Paris  he  would  be  able  to  consult 
those  skilled  in  canon  (divine)  and  civil  (human)  law.  It  is 
probable  that  Malvoisin  was  educated  at  Paris,  and  he  seems 
to  have  kept  up  his  connection  with  the  learned  there. 

In  1 20 1,  Malvoisin  was  translated  from  Glasgow  to  St 
Andrews,  the  see  which,  though  not  yet  an  archbishopric, 
constituted  its  possessor  the  Primus,  or  first  in  dignity  of  the 
Scottish  bishops. 

Sent  as  ambassador^  by  his  young  king  to  John,  sulking 
in  the  Isle  of  Wight  after  his  mortification  at  Runnymede, 
Malvoisin  proceeded  from  England  to  attend  the  Fourth 
Lateran  Council  at  Rome  in  November  1215.  This  was  the 
best  attended  Council  of  the  Latin  Church.  It  consisted 
of  nearly  five  hundred  archbishops  and  bishops,  beside  a 
great  multitude  of  abbots  and  priors  and  ambassadors  from 

*  The  Queen  v.  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  1 1  Queen's  Bench  Reports,  483. 
t  The  letter   is   printed  in  Appendix   to  Preface  to  Stat.  Cone.   Ecc.  Scot., 

XXX. 

•£  Malvoisin  went  to  visit  his  parents  in  Normandy  in  1212,  and  probably 
attended  the  Council  at  Paris  that  year.  On  his  return  he  presided  over  a  Synod 
of  the  Scottish  clergy  at  Perth  ;  on  William  the  Lion's  death,  4th  December  1214, 
he  enthroned  the  young  king,  with  more  than  usual  ceremony.  He  was  appointed 
ambassador  to  England  gth  July  1215. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.         5 

most  of  the  Christian  courts  in  the  West  and  East  Next  to 
the  recovery  of  the  Holy  Land,  the  reformation  of  the  Church 
in  faith  and  discipline  formed  a  subject  of  consultation,  and 
great  complaints  were  made  respecting  monastic  corruption. 
It  was  urged  that  new  orders  of  religious  men  were  too 
common,  and  the  Council  enacted  that  their  foundation 
should  be  discouraged,  but  this  enactment  could  not  apply 
to  the  orders  already  sanctioned  by  Pope  Innocent,  such  as 
those  of  St  Dominic  and  the  Valliscaulians. 

Malvoisin  saw  the  fitness  of  these  two  orders  for  Scot- 
land. The  Dominicans,  intrepid  preachers,  to  be  placed  in 
the  towns  and  cities  of  the  kingdom  ;  and  the  Valliscaulians, 
men  of  austere  lives,  whose  little  communities  might  attract 
attention  and  secure  respect,  in  the  wildest  and  most  remote 
districts.  Both  orders  were  in  startling  contrast  to  the  de- 
cayed and  effete  Culdees  of  Mucross  who  still  remained  at 
St  Andrews,  at  the  very  gates  of  the  Primus'  own  cathedral ; 
a  small  priestly  caste  who  had  lost  all  voice  in  the  election  of 
a  bishop ;  and  though  clinging  to  their  hereditary  possessions, 
had  given  up  their  cure  of  souls  and  their  charge  of  the  hos- 
pital for  the  sick  and  the  poor,  the  pilgrim  and  the  stranger.* 

In  1225  the  Scottish  clergy  were,  by  an  unusual  exercise 
of  the  grace  and  prerogative  of  the  papal  see,  empowered 
to  meet  in  council  without  the  summons  or  presence  of  a 
papal  legate.  Malvoisin  secured  the  precedence  of  his  see  in 
the  council :  beginning  with  the  Bishop  of  St  Andrews — 
the  Bishop  of  the  Scots,  as  Malvoisin  proudly  styled  himself— 
each  bishop  was  in  turn  to  preach  at  the  opening  of  the 
council.  The  Chancellor  was  upon  such  friendly  terms  with 
the  king,  whom  he  had  baptised  and  invested  with  the  ensigns 

*  Yet  these  clerics,  whose  name  had  already  become  a  bye-word,  had  rights 
which  Malvoisin  defended  against  the  dignified  Augustinian  canons  of  St  Andrews. 
The  hereditary  property  of  the  Culdees  was  possibly  attacked,  or  their  right  to 
mutter  divine  service  after  their  manner  in  a  corner  of  the  cathedral ;  at  all  events, 
in  February  1221,  the  papal  legate  at  Perth  heard  a  litigation  commenced  by  the 
prior  and  canons  of  St  Andrews  against  their  bishop  and  certain  clerics  of  St  An- 
drews, commonly  called  Culdees — "  et  quosdam  clericos  de  S.  Andrea,  qui  Keledei 
vulgariter  appellantur  "  (Theiner,  Mon.  Vet.  Hib.  et  Scot.,  p.  16). 


6         TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

of  royalty,  that  he  must  have  readily  attested  the  writ  which 
sent  two  doctors  of  civil  law  to  attend  the  council  as  Com- 
missioners on  behalf  of  the  Crown. 

And  now  the  monarch  and  Primus  were  to  testify  their 
sense  of  the  Pope's  benefits  by  establishing  the  new  orders  in 
Scotland.  At  the  end  of  the  year  1229  peace  was  established 
throughout  Scotland ;  for  some  years  before,  the  towns  and 
the  southern  part  of  the  kingdom  had  been  freed  from  war, 
and  had  increased  in  wealth  by  trade  and  commerce.  The 
marriage  of  the  young  King  of  Scotland,  in  1221,  to  the 
sister  of  the  King  of  England,  and  of  two  princesses  of 
Scotland,  sisters  of  Alexander,  to  Hugh  de  Burgh  and  Roger 
Bigod,  two  of  the  most  powerful  English  nobles,  put  a  stop 
to  all  hostilities  between  the  two  nations,  and  introduced  a 
friendly  intercourse  between  their  ruling  families. 

The  insurrection  of  Somerled,  Lord  of  the  Isles,  in  1221, 
which  led  to  the  expulsion  of  his  family  from  Argyle  by 
Alexander  in  1222,  freed  the  vassals  of  Somerled  from  their 
fealty  to  him,  and  they  were  made  vassals  of  the  Crown. 
North  Argyle  or  Wester  Ross  was  given  to  the  Earl  of  Ross. 
Lorn  was  granted  to  be  held  of  the  king  in  capite  by  the  sons 
of  Dougal.  In  1228  the  last  effort  was  made  by  the  Gaelic 
population  to  place  upon  the  throne  the  heir  of  Malcolm 
Canmore,  according  to  the  Celtic  laws  of  descent.  Gillespie 
M'Farlane  broke  out  in  open  rebellion  against  the  king,  killed 
Thomas  of  Thirlstane,  to  whom  Malcolm  IV.  had  given 
the  district  of  Abertarff,  and  set  fire  to  the  town  of  Inverness. 
The  king  went  himself  against  Gillespie,  who  was  overcome 
and  slain  ;  the  insurrection  was  completely  extinguished  ;  and 
the  kingdom  enjoyed  peace. 

In  the  year  1230  four  monasteries  of  the  Dominicans  and 
three  of  the  Valliscaulians  were  founded.  The  Dominicans, 
the  Preaching  Friars,  were  placed,  two  by  the  king  himself  in 
Edinburgh  and  Berwick-upon-Tweed,  one  at  Ayr  by  the  king 
and  William  Malvoisin,  and  one  by  Allan  Durward  (pstiarius) 
in  Montrose.  The  Valliscaulians,  almost  hermits,  were  placed, 
one  by  the  king  at  Pluscardine  in  Moray,  another  by  Duncan 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.         7 

Macdougal  of  Lorn  at  Ardchattan  on  Loch  Etive,  in  Argyle ; 
and  the  third  by  John  Byset  at  Beauly,  at  the  head  of  the 
Beauly  Firth,  in  Ross. 

This  House  of  Beauly  is  the  foundation  whose  few  charters 
are  printed  in  the  sequel.  It  was  planted  in  a  situation 
admirably  fitted  for  the  object  of  its  institution.  Amidst 
a  tract  of  rich  alluvial  soil  brought  down  by  the  river  and 
stretched  between  the  hills  and  sea-shore,  on  the  great 
highroad  from  Inverness  to  the  North,  the  baron  of  English 
descent,  who  had  recently  acquired  the  large  possessions  of 
the  Aird,  built  the  new  monastery.  Just  where  the  noble  river, 
after  wasting  the  speed  acquired  by  its  rush  over  the  rocks 
of  Kilmorack,  in  the  windings  below  the  founder's  new  castle 
of  Beaufort,  spreads  out  into  the  Beauly  Firth,  and  oppo- 
site the  wooded  hills  of  Balblair,  open  to  the  sunny  south, 
surrounded  by  level  land  productive  of  the  finest  wheat  and 
the  most  luxuriant  grasses,  John  Byset  reared  his  priory  and  its 
church,  whose  walls  six  centuries  and  a  half  have  not  been  able 
to  pull  down.  He  or  his  proteges,  the  monks,  gave  the  spot  a 
new  name,  Bellus  Locus,  the  Beautiful  Place, — a  name  which 
the  queen's  father  had  given  some  twenty-six  years  before  to 
the  noble  monastery  he  had  erected  on  the  shores  of  the  Solent ; 
and  looking  at  the  surrounding  scenery,  we  cannot  wonder 
it  should  be  said  that  when  Queen  Mary  slept  at  the  Priory 
of  Beauly  she,  on  hearing  its  name  adopted  from  the  language 
of  her  beloved  France,  exclaimed,  "  C'est  un  beau  lieu."* 

The  Dominicans  were  bound  to  be  instant  in  preaching  the 
Gospel.  Their  founder  was  distinguished  by  a  fervid  and  per- 
suasive eloquence,  and  feeling  the  power  of  this  faculty,  he 

*  This  is  the  probable  version  of  the  story  of  the  parish  minister  of  Kilmorack. 
He  says :  "In  the  house  of  the  priests  who  officiated  in  this  priory,  Queen  Mary,  it 
is  said,  was  entertained  for  a  night ;  and  upon  seeing  in  the  morning  the  beautiful 
view  from  its  windows,  she  exclaimed  :  '  C'est  un  beau  lieu,'  and  hence  the  name 
Beauly  was  given  to  the  village  and  river "  (Stat.  Acct.  Inverness-shire,  1842, 
p.  366).  As  this  minister  supposes  the  name  of  his  parish,  Kilmorack,  the  church 
of  Mary,  to  be  derived  from  a  lady,  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  lairds  of  Chisholm, 
we  must  not  give  him  implicit  credence.  See  the  amusing  criticism  on  this, 
Quart.  Rev.,  vol.  Ixxxii.,  p.  360. 


8        TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

established  a  fraternity  devoted  to  its  exercise — a  society  of 
itinerant  preachers.  Accordingly  their  houses  were  centres 
in  which  the  brethren  were  trained  to  their  profession,  and 
from  which  they  went  forth  into  the  streets  of  towns  and  the 
lanes  of  villages  to  preach  to  the  poor  tidings  of  salvation. 

Far  different  was  the  rule  of  the  Valliscaulians  ;  their  own 
salvation,  and  not  the  rescue  of  others,  was  the  object  of  their 
retreat  from  the  world.  They  lived  in  very  small  cells,  that  at 
the  times  of  prayer,  of  study,  and  of  meditation,  they  might  be 
withdrawn  from  other  objects,  and  alone  with  God.  They 
kept  no  oxen,  sheep,  or  any  lands  cultivated  by  their 
own  labour,  surrendering  all  possessions  which  might  divert 
their  attention  from  spiritual  exercises  by  the  care  which  such 
property  required  to  make  it  valuable.  They  had  marked 
bounds  outside  the  inclosure  of  their  priories,  beyond  which 
none  were  permitted  to  wander,  save  the  prior  and  those  he 
took  with  him  to  visit  dependent  houses.  Personally  they 
worked  only  in  their  gardens,  and  never  went  even  to  these 
but  at  hours  allowed  for  bodily  labour.  They  were  content 
with  such  incomes  as  they  could  receive  without  giving  them- 
selves much  anxiety — such  incomes  as  provided  them  with 
the  necessaries  of  life,  and  relieved  them  from  the  obligation 
of  quitting  the  precinct  to  obtain  the  means  of  living.  They 
received  into  the  house  no  more  brethren  than  its  revenues 
could  maintain.  They  wore  the  dress  of  the  Cistercians. 

Such  is  the  account  given  by  Helyot,*  on  the  authority  of 
Cardinal  Jacques  de  Vitri,  whom  he  styles  a  contemporary 
writer.  We  find  a  more  elaborate  and  authentic  statement  of 
the  rules  of  the  founder  in  the  Bull  of  Pope  Innocent  III., 
to  which  we  have  referred.  It  is  recorded  in  the  Register  of 
Moray  probably  as  the  Rule  of  the  House  of  Pluscardine,  in 
that  diocese: 

"  Innocent  the  Bishop,  servant  of  the  servants  of  God,  to  his  beloved 
sons,  the  Prior  and  the  Brothers  of  the  Valley  of  Herbs,  sends  health 
and  the  apostolic  blessing.  The  apostolic  see  is  wont  to  assent  to 

*  Histoire  des  Ordres  Monastiques,  vol.  vi.,  p.  178. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.         9 

pious  wishes,  and  to  extend  to  the  honourable  prayers  of  those  seek- 
ing it-  a  willing  favour.  We  received  from  the  letters  of  our  very 
venerable  brother  G.  elect  of  Rheims,  that  on  his  passage  through 
the  diocese  of  Langres,  he  found  that  you  had  in  the  Valley  of 
Herbs  taken  upon  yourselves  the  new  institution  of  an  order  :  inquir- 
ing diligently  as  to  its  merits,  he  found  nothing  in  it  but  what  was 
religious  and  honourable.  He  found,  indeed,  as  his  same  letters 
express,  that  among  you  one  monk,  whom  you,  my  sons  the  monks, 
elect,  is  by  right  prior,  to  whom  all  the  monks,  of  course,  and  also 
the  lay  brothers,  the  company  of  whom  may  not  exceed  the  number 
twenty,  as  to  their  spiritual  father,  are  to  take  care  to  show  reverence 
and  obedience. 

"  None  of  you  are  to  possess  any  separate  property. 

"  In  assembling  every  day,  the  mass  and  the  canonical  hours*  shall 
be  sung.  Private  masses,  whoever  wish,  may  also  celebrate. 

"  You  shall  hold  a  chapter  every  day,  making  twelve  readings  at 
the  appointed  times. 

"  You  shall  work  together,  and  you  shall  eat  together  in  the  refec- 
tory, not  using  flesh  or  fat  (sagimitie).  The  prior  shall  eat  with  you 
in  the  same  refectory  t — contented  with  the  like  food  and  clothing  as 
the  rest.  From  the  feast  of  the  Lord's  Resurrection  down  to  the 
exaltation  of  the  Holy  Cross  (i4th  September),  you  shall  eat  twice  in 
the  day,  passing  the  rest  of  the  time  under  the  abstinence  of  fasts, 
being  content  on  Fridays  with  bread  and  water  and  one  relishj  to  it. 
On  the  day  of  the  Lord's  Nativity  you  shall  not  fast,  nor  on  Friday 
in  summer  when  a  feast  shall  happen  to  fall  of  twelve  readings. 

"  You  shall  live  on  your  revenues  (redditibiis), 

11  You  shall  observe  silence.  Women  shall  not  enter  the  inner 
bounds,  nor  shall  you  pass  the  outer  bounds,  except  the  prior  on  the 

*  The  canonical  hours  of  prayers  were  seven,  after  Ps.  cxix.  164 :  (l.)  at  2  A.M. — 
the  monks  went  to  bed  at  8  P.M.;  (2.)  Matins,  at  6  A.M. ;  (3.)  9  A.M.;  (4.)  at  high 
noon;  (5.)  3  P.M.;  (6.)  Vespers,  6  P.M.;  (7.)  at  7  P.M.  See  Concord iae  Regul arum 
by  St  Benedict,  in  Fuller's  Church  History,  book  vi.,  §  3. 

t  In  abbeys,  the  abbot  only  on  great  solemnities  graced  the  monks  with  his 
presence  in  the  dining-hall  or  refectory. 

t  Pulmentum.  The  ancient  Romans  lived  on  the  simplest  fare,  chiefly  on 
pottage  (puls)>  or  bread  and  pot-herbs,  hence  everything  eaten  with  bread,  or 
besides  bread,  was  afterwards  named  Pulmentum  or  Pulmentarium  (d^uviov,  opso- 
nium,  called  in  Scotland,  Kitchen). — Hor.  Sat.  ii.,  2,  20;  Ep.  i.,  18,  48.  Adam's 
Roman  Antiquities,  p.  401. 


10      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

business  of  the  order.  The  prior,  however,  if  he  shall  be  occupied 
or  sick,  and  urgent  necessity  or  evident  utility  shall  require  it, 
shall  be  able  to  select  any  other  monk,  who  may  pass  the  outer 
bounds. 

"  You  shall  wear  hair-shirts  next  your  skin :  those,  however,  who 
cannot  endure  these  are  not  to  be  compelled  to  do  so.  You  \re 
on  no  account  to  put  on  linen  or  hempen  garments,  but  to  clothe 
yourselves  in  white  dresses  of  coarse  wool  and  leather.  You  shall 
all  lie  down  in  your  tunics,  with  your  girdles  on,  and  shoes  on.  And 
besides  this,  you,  my  sons  the  monks,  with  your  cowls  on,  nowhere 
and  never  resting  upon  mattresses. 

"  Your  novices  shall  be  in  probation  for  a  year. 

"  And  you,  my  sons  the  monks,  from  matins  to  the  hour  of  labour, 
and  from  vespers  to  sunset,  shall  devote  yourselves  to  reading,  prayer, 
and  contemplation,  except  those  whom,  at  the  discretion  of  the  prior, 
he,  for  some  certain  and  necessary  cause,  shall  consider  ought  to  be 
withdrawn  from  this. 

"  We,  therefore,  assenting  to  your  just  entreaties,  take  under  the 
protection  of  the  blessed  Peter  and  ourselves,  your  persons  and  the 
place  in  which  you  shall  give  yourselves  up  to  divine  service,  with  all 
things  that  you  reasonably  possess  at  present,  or  which  by  the  grant 
of  pontiffs,  the  bounty  of  kings  or  princes,  or  the  oblations  of  the 
faithful,  or  by  any  other  just  means,  God  favouring  you,  you  shall 
be  able  to  acquire. 

"  Specially,  however,  we,  by  the  apostolic  authority,  confirm  the 
order  itself,  constituted  by  careful  deliberation,  with  the  assent 
of  the  diocesan,  and  we  fortify  it  by  the  defence  of  this  present 
script. 

"  It  is  altogether  prohibited,  therefore,  to  any  man  to  violate  this 
page  of  our  protection  and  confirmation,  or  to  oppose  it  by  any  rash 
doing.  If  this,  however,  any  one  shall  presume  to  attempt,  let  him 
know  that  he  will  incur  the  indignation  of  Almighty  God,  and  of  the 
blessed  Apostles  Peter  and  Paul.  Dated  at  Rome,  at  St  Peter's,  the 
i205th  year  from  the  Lord's  incarnation,  the  4th  day  before  the  Ides 
of  February,  in  the  seventh  year  of  our  pontificate." 

The  monks  wore  a  white  cassock  with  a  narrow  scapulary, 
and  over  that  a  black  gown,  when  they  went  abroad,  and  a 
white  one  when  they  went  to  church. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      11 

They  were  daily  employed  in  dressing  the  gardens  of  fruits 
and  herbs,  which  were  within  the  bounds  of  the  monastery, 
and  improved  for  the  use  of  it.* 

Such  regulations  were  excellently  adapted  for  a  religious 
establishment  to  be  placed  in  the  remote  districts  of  the 
Highlands  of  Scotland,  and  the  selection  shows  the  sagacity 
of  the  Primus. 

I  shall  now,  with  a  view  to  throwing  as  much  light  as  I  can 
on  the  documents  that  are  printed,  illustrate  each  of  them 
in  chronological  order  by  reference  to  the  circumstances 
under  which  they  were  originally  produced,  and  I  shall 
endeavour  to  give  an  account  of  the  personages  who  appear 
either  as  parties  to  the  documents,  or  as  witnesses  to  their 
execution.  Such  an  account  of  the  history  of  the  Priory 
of  Beauly  as  is  necessary  to  connect  the  documents  together, 
I  have  also  thought  would  not  be  unacceptable ;  and  that 
everything  which  contributes  to  the  history  of  the  sister 
priories  of  Pluscardine  and  Ardchattan  would  be  properly 
introduced. 

The  documents  are  printed  from  the  transcripts  of  Mac- 
farlane  of  Macfarlane  in  the  Advocates  Library.  An  excellent 
account  of  him  is  given  in  the  Chartulary  of  Cambus- 
kenneth/f  The  transcripts  are  in  the  second  volume  of  the 
MSS.  called  "Diplomatum  Collectio,"  twenty-three  in  number, 
and  are  the  only  documents  extant  of  the  charters  of  the 
Priory. 

There  is  no  date  to  the  transcripts,  but  from  their  juxta- 
position to  the  Chartulary  of  Cambuskenneth,  transcribed 
in  1738,  it  is  probable  that  they  were  transcribed  shortly 
before  that  time.  In  whose  possession  the  documents  were 
at  the  time  of  their  being  transcribed  is  not  stated.  Two  of 
them — one,  No.  XVII.,  dated  the  nth  February  1500,  and  the 
other,  No.  XL,  dated  June  1340 — correspond  with  the  titles  of 
two  of  the  documents  inventoried  in  the  list  of  Lovat  charters, 
which  now  belongs  to  Captain  Dunbar  Dunbar,  and  has  been 

*  Orem's  History  of  Aberdeen.     Bibliotheca  Top.  Brit.,  1790,  p.  73. 

t  Preface  to  the  Chartulary  of  Cambuskenneth,  printed  for  the  Grampian  Club. 


12      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

kindly  lent  by  him.  This  list  contains  the  titles  of  those 
writs  belonging  to  the  Lovat  family,  which  Alexander,  Master 
of  Lovat,  and  tutor  to  Hugh,  Lord  Lovat,  gave  to  Mr  Alex- 
ander Abernethie,  writer  in  Edinburgh,  in  1651,  before  he  set 
out  to  fight  with  King  Charles  II.,  at  the  fatal  battle  of 
Worcester,  and  which  were  restored  to  him  on  the  6th 
November  1652.  The  Lovat  estates  passed  on  quietly  from 
Hugh,  Lord  Lovat,  to  his  son  of  the  same  name,  who  died  in 
1696,  leaving  issue  daughters  only;  the  eldest,  Amelia, 
married,  in  1702,  Alexander  Mackenzie,  styled,  of  Fraserdale. 

Although  Simon,  Lord  Lovat,  soon  raised  his  father's  and 
his  own  claims  to  the  succession,  yet  he  did  not  get  the 
papers  of  the  family.  On  the  loth  May  1716,  he  writes  to 
Duncan  Forbes,  afterwards  Lord  President,  then  advocate  in 
Edinburgh :  "  My  service  to  Mr  Macfarlan  and  his  lady.  I 
would  wish  he  would  search  Fraserdale's  right  to  the  estate ; 
and  what  we  can  do  to  find  the  old  papers  of  the  family." 
The  papers  would  naturally  be  with  Hugh,  the  eldest  son 
of  Amelia  Fraser ;  Hugh  certainly  acted  as  owner  of  the 
estate  of  Lovat  and  the  superiorities  belonging  to  it.  One  of 
the  transcribed  writs,  No.  XXII.,  confirmed  on  the  26th 
April  1532,  is  produced  by  Hugh,  titular  Lord  Lovat,  on  22d 
July  1729,*  in  the  pleadings  of  the  cause  relating  to  the 
right  to  the  peerage  between  him  and  Simon,  Lord  Lovat. 

John  Spottiswoode,  advocate,  wrote  notes  on  "  Hope's  Minor 
Practicks,"  and  an  account  of  religious  houses  in  Scotland. 
In  his  account  of  Beauly,  he  refers  to  four  of  the  writs  which 
are  transcribed,  Nos.  I.,  III.,  XV.,  XXIII.  He  died  in  1728, 
though  the  account  was  not  published  by  his  son  till  1734.  "f" 
He  married  the  mother  of  Walter  Macfarlane,  at  whose 
expense  the  transcripts  were  made,  and  there  seems  every 
reason  to  believe  that  at  the  time  they  were  seen  by  Spot- 
tiswoode, they  were  in  the  possession  of  Hugh,  the  titular 
Lord. 

There  was  a  submission  to  arbitration  between  Hugh,  Lord 

*  Printed  Memoir  for  Hugh,  Lord  Lovat,  22d  July  1 729,  p.  22. 
t  Hope's  Minor  Practicks.     Edin.  1734. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      13 

Lovat,  and  Simon,  Lord  Lovat,  in  March  1733,  which  was 
completed  by  a  decreet-arbitral  not  long  before  1738,  on  the 
26th  July  of  which  year  Simon  made  up  titles  to  the  whole 
lands  of  Lovat.  At  this  time  it  may  be  supposed  that  all  the 
writs  of  1652  were  given  up  to  Simon,  Lord  Lovat;  whether 
he  destroyed  any  of  them  is  not  known.  Those  which  are 
grants  of  the  Beauly  Priory  lands  after  the  Reformation 
such  as  Nos.  XVIII.  and  XIX.  in  the  Inventory  of  1652, 
being  title  deeds  of  the  Lovat  estate,  are  now,  it  seems  from 
Dr  Stuart's  "  Book  of  Kinloss,"  in  the  possession  of  the  present 
Lord  Lovat. 

But  what,  on  the  forfeiture  of  Simon,  Lord  Lovat,  became 
of  the  transcribed  writs  which  concerned  the  previous  history 
of  the  Priory,  does  not  appear.  No  reference  is  made  to  them 
in  the  publication  of  the  Hon.  Archibald  Fraser  of  Lovat, 
entitled  "Annals  of  the  Frasers,"  so  that  it  seems  doubtful 
whether  they  ever  came  into  his  possession.  We  can  only 
hope  that  by  calling  public  attention  to  the  matter,  the  origi- 
nal documents  may  be  discovered.* 

No.  I. 

BULLA  GREGORII   PAP^E   PRIORI   DE   BELLO   LOCO 
ORDINIS  VALLISCAULIUM  ROSSENSIS  DIOCCES1S. 

Ex  AUTOGRAPHO  [1231]. 

"  Gregorius  episcopus  Servus  Servorum  Dei  dilectis  Filiis  priori 
Fratribus  Monasterii  de  Bello  loco  ordinis  Vallis  Caulium  Rossensis 
Diocoesis  Salutem  et  Apostolicam  Benedictionem.  Cum  a  nobis 
petitur  quod  justum  est  et  honestum,  tarn  vigor  sequitatis  quam  ordo 
exigit  rationis,  ut  id  per  solicitudinem  officii  nostri  ad  debitum  per- 
ducatur  effectum.  Ea  propter,  dilecti  in  Domino  filii,  vestris  justis 
postulationibus  grato  concurrentes  assensu,  personas  vestras  et  Mo- 
nasterium  de  Bello  loco,  in  quo  divino  vacatis  obsequio,  cum  omni- 

*  There  are  only  three  places  where  they  can  be,  if  they  were  in  the  custody  of 
Hugh,  titular  Lord  Lovat,  in  1729:  (i.)  In  the  custody  of  his  personal  represen- 
tatives, or  their  law  agents ;  (2. )  In  the  custody  of  the  Crown ;  (3. )  In  the  cus- 
tody of  Mr  Fraser  of  Abertarff.  There  appears  no  probability  of  their  being  in 
Lord  Lovat's  possession. 


14      TRANSACTIONS.OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

bus  bonis,  quae  imprsesentiarum  rationabiliter  possidet,  aut  in  futurum 
justis  modis  possidere  vel  adipisci  poterit  praestante  Domino,  sub 
Beati  Petri  et  nostri  protectione  suscipimus ;  Specialiter  autem  de 
Sitheney  et  de  Karcurri  possessiones,  et  de  forne  piscaria,  quas 
nobilis  vir  Johannes  Biseth  ad  ipsum  spectantes  vobis  contulit,  in- 
tuitu  pietatis,  sicut  in  litteris  inde  confectis  plenius  dicitur  contineri, 
nee  non  terras,  possessiones,  et  alia  bona  vestra,  sicut  ea  omnia  juste 
et  pacifice  possidetis,  vobis  et  eidem  Monasterio  per  vos  auctoritate 
Apostolica  confirmamus,  et  prsesentis  Scripti  patrocinio  communimus. 
Nulli  ergo  omnino  hominum  liceat  hanc  paginam  nostrae  protectionis 
et  confirmationis,  vel  ei  ausu  temerario  contraire.  Si  qiiis  autem  hoc 
attemptare  praesumpserit,  indignationem  omnipotentis  Dei,  et  Bea- 
torum  Petri  et  Pauli  Apostolorum,  ejus,  si  noverit  incursurum. 
Datum  Laterani.  .  .  .  Nonas.  .  .  ,  Pontificatus  nostri 
Anno  D.  .  .  ." 

"  Not. — The  tag  yellow  silk  :  no  seal." 

This  document  is  a  Bull  of  Pope  Gregory  addressed  to  the 
prior  and  brethren  of  Beauly.  It  takes  their  persons  and 
monastery  of  Beauly  (de  Bella  Loco)  under  the  protection  of 
the  blessed  Peter  and  of  himself,  particularly  the  possessions  of 
SITHENEY,  and  of  KARCURRI,  and  the  FISHINGS  OF  FORNE, 
which  a  noble  man,  JOHN  BYSET,  had  given  them. 

Gregory  IX.  was  Pope  from  1227  to  1241.  The  reference  to 
John  Byset  shows  that  the  Bull  was  granted  by  Gregory  IX. 

The  transcript  has  only  these  words  of  the  final  part, — 
"...  Nonas.  .  .  .  Pontificatus  nostri  Anno  D.  .  .  ;" 
but  as  Spottiswoode,  who  must  have  seen  the  originals  from 
which  these  transcripts  are  made,  speaking  of  John  Byset's 
foundation,  says  his  charter  is  confirmed  by  Pope  Gregory, 
"  3tio  :  Non.  Julii,  pontificatus  anno  4to,"  we  may  fairly 
assume  that  the  lacuna  after  "anno"  should  be  filled  up  by 
"  quarto,"  and  that  the  Bull  was  dated  the  fourth  year  of  Pope 
Gregory  IX.,  or  1231. 

We  here  first  meet  with  the  name  of  the  House,  Bellus 
Locus,  Beau  Lieu,  the  Beautiful  Place.  This  was  a  not  in- 
frequent title  for  monasteries  in  France  and  England.  There 
was  in  France  a  monastery  of  Beaulieu  at  Langres ;  while 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      15 

King  John  distinguished  his  splendid  abbey  of  Beaulieu  in 
the  New  Forest  by  styling  it  Bellus  Locus  Regis,  or  King's 
Beaulieu.* 

A  writer  who  is  anxious  to  vindicate  the  high  claims  of  the 
Gaelic  language  says,  the  low  country  etymologists,  because 
they  are  ignorant  of  Gaelic,  seek  in  French  the  derivation  of 
a  native  name,  and  grace  the  Celtic  "  Beula  "  with  the  trans- 
migration of  the  French  "  Beau-lieu."  He  proceeds  :  "  The 
name,  however,  is  simple  Gaelic.  '  Bdul-alh,'  the  motith,  of 
the  ford,  from  '  Bdul,'  a  mouth,  or  deboucheur,  and  '  alh,' 
pronounced  '  a,'  a  ford.  Like  all  other  native  designations,  it  is 
expressive  of  a  local  distinction  ;  for  the  Priory  and  the  town 
are  situated  upon  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  opposite  to  the 
most  important  ford  upon  the  lower  Glass,  and  which  in  old 
times  was  the  principal  passage  into  Ross."t 

A  little  historical  inquiry  would  have  led  to  a  different  con- 
clusion, and  if  the  name  had  a  Celtic  origin  we  should  expect 
it  to  be  used  now  by  the  Celtic  population,  but  it  is  not  so. 
"  Beauly  is  not  the  Celtic  name  of  the  place,  but  '  Manachain ;' 
you  never  hear  a  Highlander  asking  in  Gaelic  '  C'ait  am  bheil 
Beauly  ? '  If  he  is  not  acquainted  with  English  he  does  not 
know  what  the  term  refers  to.  He  will  ask  you  in  his  own 
language,  '  C'ait  am  bheil  a  Manachain  ? '  this  is  the  Gaelic 
for  '  Where  is  Beauly? '  'Manach '  is  the  Gaelic  for  monk,  and 
'  manachain '  is  the  Gaelic  for  priory  or  monastery."  \ 

Of  course  it  is  possible  that  the  special  name  of  the  place 
may,  though  Celtic  in  origin,  have  been  lost  in  the  more 
generic  title  taken  from  the  peculiar  purpose  to  which  it  was 
dedicated,  and,  after  all,  the  Bull  of  Pope  Gregory  is  the  best 

*  Beaulieu,  in  Hampshire,  is  pronounced  as  Beauly  in  Inverness-shire  is — the 
Beau  like  the  same  syllable  in  Beauty,  and  the  lieu,  "ly."  Macaulay's  trumpet- 
stirring  lines  in  the  Armada  (1832): 

"  O'er  Longleat's  towers,  o'er  Cranbourne's  oaks,  the  fiery  herald  flew  : 
He  roused  the  shepherds  of  Stonehenge,  the  rangers  of  Beaulieu," 

prove  that  he  had  then  learned  more  by  reading  than  by  hearing. 

t  Provincial  Geography,  Lays  of  the  Deer  Forest,  vol.  xi.,  p.  503.     Edin.  1848. 

J  Transactions  of  Gaelic  Society  of  Inverness,  vol.  i.,  Mr  A.  Mackenzie  on 
Local  Topography. 


16      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

proof  that  the  Priory  was  on  its  foundation  called  in  French 
the  Priory  of  Beaulieu. 

Before  examining  the  contents  of  this  Bull,  the  earliest  of 
the  Beauly  charters  now  printed,  let  us  examine  the  account 
of  the  earliest  charters  given  by  the  Wardlaw  MS.,  which  we 
shall  afterwards  more  particularly  describe.  This  account  is 
as  follows : 

(i.)  John  Bisset  by  vow  and  promise  erecting  a  priory  of 
monks  in  Beauly,  and  granting  a  donation  and  mortification 
by  charter  and  confirmation  of  the  lands  of  Strathalvy  and 
Achinbady  or  Beauly,  to  the  monks  Ordinis  Vallis  Caulium 
there.  The  limits  of  their  possessions  about  the  precinct, 
specified  to  be  Onach-Tarridel  to  the  east,  and  Rivulum  de 
Breckach,  westward.  This  charter  is  by  the  said  Dom.  Joan. 
Bisset,  apud  Cellam  de  St  Durstan,  die  9  mensis  Julii  anno 
Xti.  1223.* 

(2.)  Donation  and  charter  of  confirmation  of  the  Half 
Davoch  Lands  of  Tarridale  to  the  monks  Ordinis  Vallis 
Caulium  by  Gillichrist  a  Rosse,  granted  and  subscribed  in 
burgo  de  Inverness,  in  mense  Martis  anno  Domini  1235.! 

(3.)  Donation  and  charter  of  mortification  of  the  multures 
of  several  lands  within  the  parochin  of  Wardlaw  and  Kiltarlity, 
by  Joannes  Bisset  to  the  monks  of  Beauly,  such  as :  Loveth, 
Lusfinan,  Finasses,  Monchitech  ex  utraque  parte  rivuli,  Foch- 
ines  et  dimidiae  davach  de  Beaufort  et  Duary,  Davatus  de 
Muy  et  de  Bruchach  et  de  Kenniath,  etc.J 

(4.)  Confirmation  of  all  these  donations  by  King  Alexander 
II.  to  the  monks  of  Beauly,  A.D.  123  ;§  as  they  are  set  down 
at  large  by  themselves. 

Among  the  Lovat  writs  of  1652  we  have  this  entry : 

"Confirmation   by  King  Alexander  of  the  miln  mutors  of  the 

*  Hutton  MS.,  Add.  MSS.,  B.  M.,  8144,  p.  166;  Extracts  from  Wardlaw  MS., 
by  the  late  Lewis  M.  Mackenzie  of  Findon. 

t  Findon  Extracts,  Wardlaw  MS.,  1225. 

J  Loveth  is  Lovat ;  Finasses,  Fingask ;  Monchitech,  Moniack  Easter  and 
Wester ;  Fochines,  Phoineas ;  Beaufort  et  Duary,  Beaufort  and  Downie ;  Muy, 
Moy  ;  Bruchach,  Bruiach. 

§  Findon  Extracts,  1231. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  I'RIORY  OF  BEAULY.      17 

Half  Davach  Lands  of  Louich  and  Milne  of  Dovvatrie,  dated  2oth 
Decr  and  lyth  year  of  his  reign." 

The  seventeenth  year  of  Alexander  II.  is  1231. 

Possibly  among  "  the  eight  and  forty  pieces  of  parchment  in 
old  character,"  mentioned  in  the  Dunbar  D unbar  MS.  as  not 
of  any  importance  in  the  eyes  of  Mr  Alexander  Abernethie, 
there  may  have  been  these  charters  from  John  Byset  and 
Gillechrist  a  Rosse. 

But  to  return  to  the  Bull  of  Gregory  IX.  It  introduces  us 
to  the  founder  of  the  House  of  Beauly,  John  Byset*  The 
first  person  of  the  name  recorded  in  contemporary  docu- 
ments in  Scotland  is  Henry  Byset,  who  is  a  witness  to  a 
charter  of  William  the  Lion  before  iiQS.-f- 

John  Byset  first  appears  as  the  Lord  of  the  Aird  in  the 
deeds  of  arrangement  between  him  and  Bricius,  Bishop  of 
Moray,  who  died  in  1221,  and  which  are  confirmed  by  King 
Alexander  II.  in  1221.  Byset  must  have  been  the  first  of 
the  family  who  acquired  the  lands  of  the  Aird,  for  the  king's 
confirmation  expressly  mentions  that  the  lands  had  been 
granted  to  John  Byset  personally.  When,  in  1226,  giving  the 
church  of  Kiltarlity  to  the  leper  house  of  Rathven,  he 
does  so,  among  other  objects,  for  the  soul  of  William,  King 
of  Scotland  ;  so  that  the  grant  referred*to  by  King  Alex- 
ander II.  had  probably  been  made  to  Byset  by  King  William 
the  Lion. 

The  Scalacronica  states  that  William  the  Lion,  in  1174,  on 
his  return  from  captivity  at  Falaise  and  in  England,  brought 
back  young  Englishmen  of  family  to  seek  their  fortunes  at 
the  Scottish  court.  Among  these  are  named  the  Bysets 
[Biseys].|  At  this  time  Henry  Byset  may  have  come  into 
Scotland. 

From  1179  to  1187  William  the  Lion  was  engaged  in  put- 

*  The  spelling  is  various,  and  was  afterwards  corrupted  into  Bisset;  but  we 
shall  adopt  this  form  of  Byset,  as  having  been  used  by  the  founder  of  the  Priory  of 
Beauly,  and  by  writers  of  contemporary  charters. 

t  Chart.  Melrose,  vol.  i.,  p.  123. 

J  Scalacronica,  Maitland  Club,  Edinb.  1836,  p.  41. 

B 


18      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

ting  down  the  rebellion  of  Donald  Bane,*  who,  after  the 
Boy  of  Egremont's  defeat,  claimed  to  be  the  Celtic  heir  of 
Malcolm  Canmore.  William  completed  with  the  people  of 
Moray  and  Ross  what  his  brother  Malcolm  had  begun  with 
the  people  of  Moray,  expelling  great  numbers  of  the  Celtic 
inhabitants,  putting  the  land  under  the  feudal  system,  and 
granting  it  out  in  baronies,  to  be  held  of  the  Crown.  Among 
these,  in  the  province  of  Moray,  the  barony  of  the  Aird  was 
probably  granted  to  John  Byset,  to  secure  his  victory  over 
Donald  Bane ;  and  about  1 187  William  the  Lion  founded  two 
castles  in  Ross,  one  of  which  was  called  Ethirdover.  This, 
by  the  combined  light  thrown  on  it  by  the  lease  of  Kilcoy/f 
afterwards  referred  to,  and  the  grant  of  Andrew  de  Boscho 
(Beauly  Diplomata,  No.  VII.),  is  settled  to  be  the  castle  of 
Edirdor,  or  Redcastle,  on  the  Beauly  Firth.  In  the  latter  part 
of  his  reign,  the  king  probably  appointed  John  Byset  here- 
ditary constable  of  this  castle,  and  attached  to  it  the  lands 
of  Edirdor,  and  at  the  same  time  gave  him  the  barony  of  the 
Aird  and  the  lands  of  Kilravoch,  for  we  find  all  these — the 
castle  and  lands  of  Edirdor,  the  barony  of  the  Aird,  and  the 
lands  of  Kilravoch — were  the  hereditary  possessions  of  the 
granddaughters  of  John  Byset. 

The  name  of  John  Byset  first  occurs  in  contemporary  docu- 
ments in  1204  in  the  Register  of  the  Abbey  of  Newbattle,  and 
as  a  witness  to  a  charter  of  Henry  de  Graham. |  As  we  find 
that  the  papal  Bull  for  translating  the  parish  church  of  Kirk- 
hill  was  obtained  in  1210,  just  about  the  time  that  the  insur- 
rection of  the  son  of  Donald  Bane  broke  out  in  Ross-shire, 
and  as  John  Byset's  confirmation  of  this  translation  seems  to 

*  It  is  said  that  Edmund,  a  son  of  Malcolm  Canmore  and  St  Margaret,  joined 
in  the  conspiracy  of  Donald  Bane  against  the  succession  of  King  Edgar,  and  when 
that  king  succeeded,  Edmund  seems  to  have  adopted  a  course  which  saved  his  own 
life  and  preserved  the  honour  of  his  family.  He  assumed  the  cowl  at  Montacute, 
the  Cluniac  priory,  in  Somersetshire.  I  note  the  fact  as  an  illustration  of  the 
intimate  connection  then  subsisting  between  England  and  Scotland,  which  is  like- 
wise shown  in  the  history  of  the  founder  of  Beauly. 

t  Preface  to  Orig.  Par.  Scot.,  p.  xxi.  -r  Book  of  Kilravock,  p.  109. 

t  Reg.  Newbattle. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      19 

imply  his  having  promoted  it,  we  may  not  err  in  assuming 
that  this  grant  was  made  by  King  William  on  the  quelling  of 
the  rebellion  in  1211. 

John  Byset's  mother  was  alive  in  1221,  as  in  the  deeds  of 
arrangement  he  grants  a  glebe  to  the  parish  church  of  Kirk- 
hill  for  the  soul  of  his  father,  who  was  therefore  dead,  but 
not  for  the  soul  of  his  mother,  who  was  therefore  living.  From 
the  time  of  these  deeds  to  1232,  we  find  John  Byset  witnessing 
the  charters  of  King  Alexander  II.  with  William  his  brother, 
and  with  Walter  Byset,  who  was  the  lord  of  Aboyne,  in  Aber- 
deenshire. 

The  Bysets  in  England  were  a  family  of  baronial  rank ; 
they  had  the  types  and  insignia  of  nobility ;  they  held  high 
office  about  the  person  of  the  Plantagenets;  they  witnessed  the 
confirmation  of  Magna  Charta,  endowed  abbeys  and  priories, 
and  left  that  indubitable  mark  of  their  importance  by  the 
additional  name  which  some  English  parishes  have  derived 
from  them.  Preston-Byset  tells  the  country  folks  of  Bucking- 
hamshire now,  as  Combe-Byset  informs  the  men  of  Wilts,  of 
the  days  long  ago,  when  a  Byset  was  the  lord  of  Preston  and 
of  Combe.*  In  particular,  Manassar  Byset,  Sewer  of  the 
Household  to  King  Henry  II.,  founded  a  house  of  lepers  at 
Maiden  Bradley,  in  Wiltshire,  and  the  successive  members  of 
his  family  confirmed  and  added  to  the  endowment.  The 
pious  maid  of  honour,  Margaret  Byset,  who,  passing  the 
night  in  watching  and  prayer,  saved  the  life  of  Henry  III.  in 
1238  at  Woodstock  from  the  hands  of  an  assassin,  had  some 
time  before  added  to  the  possessions  of  Maiden  Bradley. 

The  English  Bysets  were  a  united  family,  each  member 
assisting  the  other ;  and  we  find  Manassar  Byset  giving  the 
manor  of  East  Bridgeford,  Nottinghamshire,  to  his  brother 
William,  and  this  William  Byset  obtaining  the  consent  of  his 

*  There  is  no  more  certain  mark  of  the  early  importance  of  a  family  than  the  affix 
of  its  name  to  that  of  an  English  parish.  It  is  more  to  be  relied  on  than  the  family 
having  the  same  name  as  the  parish ;  in  the  origin  of  surnames  many  families  other 
than  the  owners  of  a  village  took  their  names  from  it ;  but  no  village  ever  took  its 
second  name  from  any  family  but  that  of  its  lords. 


20      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

son  William,  his  brother  Manassar,  and  his  nephew  Ernulph, 
to  his  grant  to  the  priory  of  Thurgarton  for  the  souls  of  his 
father  and  mother  and  wife,  and  of  his  brothers  Henry  and 
Ausold,  and  his  nephew  Henry.  It  seems  probable  that 
Henry  Byset  of  1198,  the  courtier  of  King  William  the  Lion, 
was  a  member  of  the  family  of  East  Bridgeford. 

We  may  not  proceed  further  without  referring  to  the  MSS. 
which  are  mentioned  by  writers  on  Beauly  Priory,  while  it  is 
impossible  to  avoid  saying  that  these  MSS.  are  entitled  to  no 
real  credit.  One  is  a  history  of  the  family  of  Fraser  of  Lovat, 
intended  for  publication,  1749;  and  the  other  "a  short  chrono- 
logy and  genealogy  of  the  Bissets  and  Erasers  of  Lovat,"* 
which,  although  said  to  be  written  by  Mr  James  Fraser, 
minister  of  Wardlaw,  purports  only  to  be  a  transcript  of  the 
Wardlaw  MS.  by  Robert  Fraser,  1725.  These  two  MSS. 
appear  to  have  been  written  in  the  interest  of  Simon,  Lord 
Lovat,  who  wished  the  history  of  his  family  coloured  to  suit 
his  claims  against  Amelia  Fraser,  who,  in  1702,  pretending 
to  be  heiress  of  line  of  the  Byset,  obtained  a  decree  of  the 
Court  of  Session,  for  the  peerage  of  Fraser  of  Lovat. 

The  Wardlaw  MS.,  to  which  we  before  referred,  was  written 
by  James  Fraser,  minister  of  Wardlaw  from  1661  to  1709.  It 
is  probable  that  he  had  access  to  the  Lovat  Writs  of  1652, 
and  so  far  as  he  professes  to  copy  actual  charters,  he  may  be 
trusted.  We  have  not  seen  the  MS.,  but  have  obtained  ex- 
tracts from  it  among  General  Hutton's  MSS.  in  the  British 
Museum,  and  also  extracts  made  by  the  late  Lewis  M.  Mac- 
kenzie, Esq.  of  Findon,  whose  loss  northern  archaeologists 
have  to  regret.  When  the  Wardlaw  MS.  passes  from  tran- 
scribing charters  or  recording  the  events  which  passed  before 
the  eyes  of  the  writer,  it  is  hardly  to  be  relied  on  more  than 
the  MSS.  of  1725  and  1749 ;  but  as  the  compiler  died  before 
Simon,  Lord  Lovat's  contention  arose,  his  story  is  not  twisted 
to  suit  the  claims  of  rival  parties. 

As  a  specimen  of  the  inventive  powers  or  credulity  of  the 
writer  of  the  Wardlaw  MS.,  he  states  that  John  Byset,  the 

*  MSS.,  Advocates  Library,  Genealogical  Collection,  38,  4,  8,  409-417. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      21 

founder  of  Beauly  Priory,  was  the  son  of  Byset,  a  courtier  of 
William  the  Lion,  which  Byset  married  Agnes,  daughter  of 
the  king.  This  marriage  is  a  stupid  invention  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  The  daughters  of  William  the  Lion,  legiti- 
mate and  illegitimate,*  are  perfectly  well  known,  and  duly 
inquired  into  on  the  claims  to  the  crown  of  Scotland  in 
1296. 

John  Byset  of  Lovat,  the  founder,  makes  the  arrangement 
we  have  alluded  to  with  Bricius,  Bishop  of  Moray,  respecting 
the  glebe  of  the  parish  of  Kirkhill,  which  cannot  be  later  than 
1221.  The  arrangement  is  confirmed  by  King  Alexander  II., 
by  a  deed  dated  at  Elgin  on  the  i$th  October  I22i,-f- just  at 
the  time  when  the  king  had  succeeded  in  repressing  the  rising 
of  Somerled  in  South  Argyle  and  North  Argyle  or  Wester 
Ross.  The  arrangement  relates  to  the  advowsons  of  the 
churches  of  Conveth  (Conway)  and  Dunballoch  (Dulbalach). 
Shaw,  in  his  "  Province  of  Moray,"  under  the  head  of  Kirk- 
hill,  writes :{  "This  church  stood  formerly  at  Dunbalach  a 
mile  up  the  river,  and  was  dedicated  to  St  Maurice.  I  have 
seen  in  the  hands  of  Mr  Fraser  of  Dunbalach,  a  papal  Bull, 
dated  anno  1210,  for  translating  the  church  of  Mauritius  from 
Dunbalach  to  Wardlaw." 

The  charters,  of  which  there  are  two  copies  in  the  Register 
of  Moray,  in  the  first  place  mention  the  lands  of  John  Byset 
as  having  been  granted  to  him,  and  as  having  before  that 
grant  been  part  of  the  parishes  of  Dunballoch  and  Conway. 
John  Byset  releases  to  Bricius,  Bishop  of  Moray,  and  his 
successors,  the  advowson  of  the  church  of  Dunballoch,  and 
the  bishop  releases  to  John  Byset  the  advowson  of  the 

*  William  the  Lion  had  three  legitimate  daughters:  (i.)  Margaret,  who  married 
Hubert  de  Burgh,  chief  minister  to  Henry  III.,  and  left  an  only  daughter,  Magota ; 
(2.)  Isabella,  married  Roger  Bigod,  Earl  of  Norfolk,  ob.  s.  p.;  (3.)  Marjory,  married 
Gilbert  the  Marshal,  Earl  of  Pembroke ;  she  survived  her  husband,  and  died  at 
London,  1244,  s.  p.  He  had  four  illegitimate  daughters  :  (i.)  Isabella,  married 
in  1183  to  Robert  de  Bruce,  and  in  1191,  to  Robert  de  Ross;  (2.)  Ada,  married 
in  1184  to  Patrick,  Earl  of  Dunbar;  (3.)  Margaret,  married  in  1192  to  Eustace 
de  Vesci ;  (4. )  Aufrida,  married  to  William  de  Say. 

t  Reg.  Moray.  %  Shaw's  Moray,  p.  361. 


22      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

church  of  Conway.  The  bishop  agrees  to  have  the  charter 
confirmed  by  the  chapter  of  the  church  of  Spynie;  and 
John  Byset  agrees  to  have  it  confirmed  by  the  Crown. 
Byset  also  agrees  to  give  seven  acres  of  ground  to  the  church 
of  Dunballoch,  in  a  competent  place,  and  near  to  the  parish 
church  of  Dunballoch,  when  it  shall  have  been  translated  to 
Fingask,  to  the  place  which  is  called  Wardelaue  (Wardlaw). 
It  appears  that  the  translation,  which  had  been  provisionally 
sanctioned  by  the  papal  Bull,  had  not  yet  been  effected.  It 
was  afterwards  carried  out,  and  the  site  of  the  old  church  of 
Wardlaw  is  now  occupied  by  the  ruins  of  that  church  and  its 
bury  ing-ground. 

In  passing,  we  may  remark  the  distinction  observed  in 
the  deed  between  the  Saxon-Scottish  and  the  Gaelic-Scot- 
tish languages;  the  Gaelic  is  called  Scots:  this  was  the 
rule  down  to  the  time  of  the  Reformation.  The  place 
was  called  Wardlaw  by  the  Saxons  because  it  was  the 
law  or  hill '  from  which  ward  or  watch  was  kept,  probably 
against  a  possible  incursion  from  the  Gaelic  inhabitants,  who 
called  it  Balblair,  or  the  town  of  or  overlooking  the  plain. 
Shaw  states*  that  the  parish  was  called  Wardlaw,  because  the 
garrison  of  Lovat  kept  ward  or  watch  on  this  law  or  hill : 
we  find  no  mention  of  Lovat  till  John  Byset  acquired  it ;  but 
being  a  castle  or  fort  on  the  plain  below,  defended  by  water, 
it  would  be  convenient  for  it  to  have  a  look-out  above,  and 
Byset  may  have  established  the  watch-tower  on  the  hill  to 
communicate  with  the  fort.  As  he  also  had  the  Red  Castle, 
his  positions  were  strong  on  the  Firth. 

Byset  had,  it  appears  by  the  deed,  the  lands  of  the  two 
parishes  of  Dunballoch  (now  Kirkhill)  and  Conveth  (now 
united  with  Kiltarlity).  There  were  nine  davochs  in  Kirkhill : 
Fyngask  (Fingask),  Morevayn,  Lusnacorn,  Monychoc  and 
another  Monychok  (Easter  and  Wester  Moniack),  and  three 
davochs  of  Ferge  or  Fere  (Fearn,  Fearnua).  There  were 
eleven  davochs  in  Conveth  :  Gulsackyn  (Guisachan),  Buntach 
(Buntait),  Herkele  (Erchless),  Comber  (Comerkirktown),  Cone- 
*  Shaw's  Moray,  p.  144. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      23 

way,  two  davochs  (Easter  and  Wester  Conveth),  Bruiach 
Muy  and  another  Muy,  Dunyn  (Downie),  and  Fotheness 
(Foyness,  Phoineas). 

The  lands  of  Dunballoch  and  Conveth  had  been  granted 
by  the  Crown  to  John  Byset  at  a  yearly  rent  of  £10.  The 
bishop  of  the  diocese  claimed  for  the  churches  of  Dunballoch 
and  Conveth  a  tenth  of  this  rent,  under  the  grant  of  William 
the  Lion,  to  the  church  of  Moray,  that  is,  claimed  it  against 
the  Crown.  Byset  had  retained  the  tenth  out  of  the  Crown 
rent,  but  had  not  paid  it  to  the  churches. 

John  Byset  next  founded  the  church  of  Kiltarlity,  and  gave 
it  a  parish  out  of  the  parish  of  Conveth,  which  before  included 
all  that  ever  belonged  to  Kiltarlity.  The  new  parish  of  Kil- 
tarlity included  Erchless,  a  davoch  in  the  earldom  of  Ross. 
A  davoch  was  as  much  arable  land  as  would  employ  four 
ploughs,  and  this  in  so  hilly  a  country  as  Strathglass  would 
carry  with  it  probably  a  large  district  of  pasture.  Erchless 
was  an  important  part  of  the  new  parish,  and  for  this  reason 
the  parish  may  have  come  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Bishop 
of  Ross,  which  was  co-extensive  with  the  earldom  of  Ross. 

John  Byset,  intending  to  make  use  of  the  church  of  Kiltarlity, 
first  secured  the  patronage  by  deed  from  the  Bishop  of  Ross 
early  in  1226*  The  Bishop  of  Ross,  Robert,  with  the  consent 
of  the  chapter  of  Rosemarkie  and  his  other  clergy,  quit-claims 
to  John  Byset  and  his  heirs,  for  their  homage,  his  right  of 
patronage  of  the  church  of  Kiltarlity  ;  and  John  Byset  and 
his  heirs  quit-claimed  to  the  bishop  whatever  right  they  had 
to  the  kirkland  of  the  said  church  ;  and  Byset,  beside,  for 
the  purpose  of  settling  the  controversy,  and  as  an  atonement 
for  his  own  sins,  contributed  15  merks  of  silver  to  the  fabric 
of  the  church  of  St  Peter  of  Rosemarkie,  and  a  stone  of 
wax  yearly  from  himself  and  his  heirs  to  the  light  upon  the 
altar  of  that  church ;  and  the  bishop  and  canons  gave  John 
and  his  heirs  an  interest  in  the  orisons  which  should  be  pre- 
sented in  praise  of  God  in  the  church.  A  merk  was  equal 
to  thirteen  pence  and  one-third  of  a  penny  sterling.  Farquhar, 

*  Reg.  Moray. 


24      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Earl  of  Ross,  Peter  Byset,  Anselm  Byset,  and  William 
Byset,  are  witnesses.  John  Byset  and  Peter  Byset  are 
witnesses  to  a  charter  by  Thomas  de  Galloway,  Earl  of 
Atholl.* 

John  Byset  having  divided  the  parish  of  Conveth  into  two 
parishes,  those  of  Kiltarlity  and  Conveth,  next  proceeds  to 
appropriate  the  church  of  Kiltarlity  to  the  House  of  Lepers 
at  Rathven,  Banffshire.-f-  The  parish  church  of  Rathven  was 
appropriated  to  the  Bishop  of  Moray.  He  and  David  de 
Strathbolgy  agreed  that  the  minister  serving  in  the  church 
should  have  a  glebe  and  manse ;  and  Bishop  Bricius,  between 
1203  and  1216,  adding  eight  canons  to  the  chapter,  endowed 
the  eighth  canon  as  a  prebend,  with  the  churches  of  Rathven 
and  Dipple  on  the  Spey,  and  the  canon  had  the  tithes  of  the 
parish  of  Rathven.  Notwithstanding  this,  the  church  of 
Rathven  seems  to  have  had  a  sufficiently  independent  exist- 
ence to  enable  John  Byset  to  establish  a  leper  house  in  con- 
nection with  it.  |  Byset,  first  by  one  deed  grants  for  the  soul 
of  William,  King  of  Scotland,  and  for  the  salvation  of  his 
lord,  Alexander,  the  noble  king,  and  for  the  salvation  of  the 
souls  of  his  predecessors  and  successors,  the  right  of  patronage 
of  the  church  of  Kiltarlity  to  the  church  of  St  Peter  of  Rath- 
ven, for  the  maintenance  of  the  lepers  serving  God  there. 
Besides  he  had  given  to  the  house  so  much  of  his  means  that 
the  members  had  promised,  and  by  a  solemn  instrument 
obliged  themselves,  to  keep  a  chaplain  there,  ministering  in 
sacred  things,  and  seven  lepers,  and  one  male  domestic 
serving  them  ;  and  it  was  provided  that  if  any  of  the  lepers 
should  die  or  depart  from  the  house,  another  should  be 
presented  by  him  or  his  heirs  until  the  number  was 
complete.  §  Among  the  witnesses  is  "  W.,  my  brother." 

*  Reg.  Dunfermline,  p.  86. 

t  Provisions  for  the  victims  of  that  terrible  disease  are  among  the  most  frequent, 
as  well  as  the  most  useful,  institutions  of  that  age. 

t  See  lease  of  these  tithes,  by  the  parson  of  Dipple,  in  15  74,  Shaw's  Moray,  App.  xlv. 

§  A  similar  provision  for  two  almsmen  in  the  hospital  of  St  Leonard  is  provided 
by  Robert  Byset  of  Upsetlington  in  his  grant  to  the  monastery  of  Kelso,  1240. 
Walter  Byset  and  William  Byset  are  witnesses  to  this  deed  (Chart.  Kalchow,  240). 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      25 

This  charter  seems  to  have  been  insufficient  to  appropriate 
the  church  of  Kiltarlity  to  the  House  of  Lepers,  and  on 
the  I  Qth  of  June  1226*  John  Byset  grants  to  the  church 
of  St  Peter  and  the  House  of  Lepers  of  Rathven,  and  the 
brethren  serving  there,  the  church  of  Kiltarlity  with  its  perti- 
nents. Andrew,  Bishop  of  Moray,  at  the  instance  of  John 
Byset,  and  on  his  presentation,  had  canonically  admitted 
William,  prior  of  the  house,  in  the  name  of  his  brethren, 
to  the  church,  and  had  confirmed  the  said  church  to  the 
House  of  Lepers  and  the  brethren  there,  to  be  held  for  their 
proper  use,  with  all  appurtenances  in  lands,  tithes,  and  obla- 
tions. 

This  benevolent  foundation  of  John  Byset  survives,  not 
indeed  for  lepers,  but  for  bedesmen.  The  Bedehouse  is  still 
standing  at  the  village  of  Rathven,  and  was  lately  repaired. 
Two  of  the  six  bedesmen,  who  are  maintained  in  the  establish- 
ment, live  in  the  house.  The  appointment  of  the  bedesmen 
belongs  to  the  Earl  of  Fife.^f* 

No  vicarage  of  Kiltarlity  is  mentioned  in  the  Moray  Tax- 
atio — the  church  itself  being  taxed  at  1 1 1  merks.  j  It  is 
joined  with  Wardlaw  in  being  liable  to  a  procuration  fee  of 
403.,  and  paid  2s.  for  synodals.  How  the  religious  services 
of  the  church  were  provided  for  does  not  appear,  but  in  1563 
the  church  of  Rathven  preserved  its  property  in  the  parish  of 
Kiltarlity.  which  is  entered  thus  :  § 

"  Item,  the  kirk  of  Kintallartie  sett  for  xxiii.  lib." 

The  Bishops  of  Moray  did  not  neglect  making  the  best  use 
of  the  release  of  Dunballoch  parish.  They  divided  it  into 
the  parishes  of  Wardlaw  and  Fearnway ;  and  in  1239,)!  An- 
drew, Bishop  of  Moray,  grants,  with  other  churches,  the  church 
of  Fearnway,  with  all  its  pertinents,  to  the  common  use  of 
the  canons  of  Elgin.  The  bishops  constituted  a  vicar  in  Dun- 

*  Reg.  Moray.  t  New  Statistical  Account,  Banff,  p.  268. 

J  Reg.  Moray,  pp.  362,  364,  365. 

§  Antiquities  of  Aberdeen  and  Banff,  vol.  ii.,  p.  144.     Spalding  Club. 
II  Reg.  Moray,  35. 


26      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

balloch,  who  appears  in  1224,  1226,  and  1227,*  and  after  the 
division,  a  vicar  in  Wardlaw/f* 

Not  only  does  William  Byset,  in  his  grant  of  Abertaff  to 
Beauly  (No.  II.),  mention  "John,  my  brother,"  but  to  a  charter 
of  King  Alexander  II.,!  Jorm  Byset  is  a  witness,  "and  William, 
his  brother ; "  so  that  we  may  assume  that  the  "  W.,  my 
brother,"  is  William  Byset. 

The  Bishop  of  Ross  having  acquired,  by  the  arrangement 
with  John  Byset,  the  right  to  the  stone  of  wax  from  the  noted 
bees  of  Strathglass,  proceeds  to  settle,  in  February  1227,  a 
dispute  between  him  and  the  Bishop  of  Moray.  The  Bishop 
of  Ross  had  surrendered  the  patronage  of  Kiltarlity  to  John 
Byset,  and  the  Bishop  of  Moray  had  assented  to  its  appro- 
priation to  the  church  and  leper  house  of  Rathven ;  so  that 
there  was  not  left  any  episcopal  interest  in  the  church  of 
Kiltarlity,  but  it  was  enough  to  enable  the  Bishop  of  Ross, 
by  giving  it  up,  to  retain  without  question  his  anomalous 
rights  over  the  church  of  Ardersier,  in  the  province  of  Moray. 

The  controversy  §  had  arisen  between  Andrew,  Bishop  of 
Moray,  on  one  side,  and  Robert,  Bishop  of  Ross,  and  his 
chapter,  on  the  other — the  former  asserting  in  the  presence 
of  the  Pope's  delegates,  namely,  the  Abbot  of  Deer  and  the 
Dean  and  Archdeacon  of  Aberdeen,  the  right  of  diocesan 
over  the  churches  of  Kiltarlity  and  Ardersier,  and  having 
been  put  in  actual  possession  of  the  churches  a  year  before 
causa  rei  servandce.  The  controversy  was  settled  by  the  advice 
of  the  delegates,  and  with  consent  of  the  chapters  and  clergy 
of  both  dioceses,  in  the  following  manner :  That  the  Bishops 
of  Moray  should  possess  the  church  of  Kiltarlity  as  in  diocesan 
right,  and  the  Bishops  of  Ross  should  have  the  church  of 
Ardersier,  as  to  all  ecclesiastical  matters,  as  their  predecessors 
formerly  held  it.  Moreover,  the  Bishop  of  Moray,  for  himself 
and  his  successors,  and  with  the  consent  of  his  chapter,  re- 

*  Reg.  Moray,  76,  77,  78,  82,  333. 

t  The  Vicar  of  Wardlaw  is  charged  95.  4d.  in  1274  and  1275  (Theiner,  Mon. 
Vet.  Hib.  et  Scot,  pp.  in,  116). 
J  Reg.  Glasgow,  p.  116.  §  Reg.  Moray. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      27 

nounced  all  right,  if  any,  which  he  had,  or  might  have,  in  the 
church  of  Ardersier,  and  all  action  and  demand,  solemnly 
promising  that  neither  he  nor  his  successors  should  afterwards 
claim  any  right  in  that  church,  or  in  aught  belonging  to  it ; 
the  Bishop  of  Ross,  for  himself  and  his  successors,  and  with 
the  consent  of  his  chapter  and  clergy,  making  a  similar  re- 
nunciation and  promise  as  to  the  church  of  Kiltarlity.  The 
Bishop  of  Ross,  with  same  consent,  gave  to  the  cathedral 
church  of  Elgin,  a  stone  of  wax,  to  be  held  for  confraternity 
and  the  orisons  and  other  benefits  there  to  be  rendered  ; 
which  stone  of  wax  John  Byset  and  his  heirs  will  give  to  the 
cathedral  church  of  Ross,  as  is  testified  by  his  charter  there- 
upon executed.  It  was  further  settled  that  if  either  of  the 
said  churches  should  attempt  to  contravene  the  agreement,  it 
should  pay  ^"100  sterling  to  the  other,  and  the  agreement 
should,  notwithstanding,  remain  valid.  The  deed  is  dated  at 
Kenedor,  near  Elgin,  the  vigil  of  the  Purification  (ist  Febru- 
ary), 1227.  The  place  of  date  indicates  that  the  house  built 
by  Bishop  Archibald  of  Moray  at  Kenedor  in  1280  was  a  re- 
storation of  the  episcopal  residence  there. 

In  accordance  with  the  papal  Bull  of  1224,  the  church  of 
the  Holy  Trinity  at  Elgin  was  appointed  the  cathedral  church 
of  Moray.  Andrew,  the  bishop,  commenced  the  building  of 
a  cathedral,  in  substitution  for  the  church  of  the  Holy 
Trinity.  The  continuance  of  this  great  work  for  the  next 
eighteen  years  provided  a  resort  for  architects,  and  hence 
within  that  period  the  churches  of  the  priories  of  Beauly  and 
Pluscardine  were  begun. 

The  three  subjects  given  by  John  Byset  to  the  monks  are 
specified  to  be  the  possessions  of  Sitheney,  of  Karcurry,  and 
the  fishings  of  Forne. 

Sitheney. — This  word,  probably  distorted  by  the  papal 
scribe,  it  is  difficult  to  recognise.  If  it  were  more  like  Strath- 
alvy  it  might  be  taken  for  that,  for  in  the  MS.  of  1728,*  we 
read:  "Anno  dom.  1245.  By  Bull  from  Pope  Innocent  IV. 
the  Priory  of  Beauly  was  erected  for  the  Benedictine  monks, 
*  Adv.  Lib.  MSS.,  Genealog.  Coll.,  35,  4,  8,  p.  411. 


28      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Ordinis  Vallis  Caulium,  and  King  Alexander  II.  mortified 
and  confirmed  to  the  monks  all  the  lands  of  Strathalvy, 
the  monastery  to  be  erected  in  Insula  de  Achinbady  in 
Strathalvy,  where  stood  a  chappel  of  St  Michael,  and 
John  Bisset  entrusted  with  the  erection,  and  to  take  care 
of  the  edifice,  which  he  did  accordingly  carry  on.  The 
Prior  Pater  Jacomo  with  six  monks  came  to  Lovat  then,  and 
the  country  provided  for  them,  and  the  monks  called  that 
place  which  was  formerly  termed  in  the  French  Boulu,  a  fair, 
good  place." 

In  the  Inventory  of  the  Lovat  writs,  1652,*  we  get : 

"  Confirmation  be  K.  Alexr.  of  ye  lands  of  Sethink,  daitit  2oth 
August  and  i5th  year  of  his  Reign"  [1230]. 

It  may  be  a  name  for  the  island  of  Achinbady.  The  final 
ey  of  Sitheney  may  mean  Island. 

Karcurry. — We  find  this  in  Craigscorrie  (Hawkhill),  a  part 
of  the  barony  of  Beauly.  The  fishings  of  Forne  or  Farrar, 
now  Beauly,  were  a  notable  possession  of  the  monks,  and  of 
extreme  value  to  them,  as  by  the  rules  of  their  order  they 
were  to  abstain  very  much  from  flesh ;  and  were  neither  to 
breed  cattle  or  sheep,  or  to  cultivate  arable  land. 

The  foundation  charter  of  the  Priory  of  Beauly,  to  which 
both  Rose,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Family  of  Kilravock,"  and 
Spottiswoode,  in  his  "  Religious  Houses  of  Scotland,"  refer,  is 
probably  a  forgery.  Spottiswoode  writes,-f-  "  The  Priory  of 
Beauly  or  Ross  was  founded  in  the  year  1231  by  James 
Bisset,  a  gentleman  of  a  considerable  estate  in  that  shire." 
After  mistaking  the  name  and  position  of  the  Byset 
estates,  which,  except  Erchless  and  its  pertinents,  lay 
in  Moray,  we  cannot  expect  accuracy.  He  proceeds : 
"  The  terms  of  its  foundation  were,  Ut  pro  ipso,  dum  vi- 
verent  orarent  monachi :  post  mortem  funus  corpusque  ex- 
ciperent,  atque  animam  de  corpore  abeuntem  per  continua 
sacrificia  et  opera  pietatis  prosequerentur.  His  charter  is  con- 

*  Dunbar  Dunbar  MS. 

t  Spottiswoode's  Relig.  Houses,  Minor  Practicks,  Edin.  1734. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      29 

firmed  by  Pope  Gregory  3tio:  Non.  Julii,  pontificatus  anno 
4to."  Rose  has  the  following  :*  "  I  have  heard  it  reported  of 
the  Right  Honourable  Sir  George  Mackenzie  of  Tarbat,  now 
Lord  Register,  that  in  the  foundation  of  the  Priorie  of  Bewlie 
there  is  insert  as  witnesses  Urquhart  of  Cromartie  and  Rose 
of  Geddes ;  which,  if  so,  Kilravock's  predecessors  have  been 
near  a  whole  centurie  of  years  in  this  countrie  before  their 
getting  of  Kilravock ;  for,  by  search  of  historic  and  records,  I 
conceive  that  priorie  was  built  by  Bisset  of  Lovat,  either  in 
the  latter  end  of  the  reigne  of  King  William  or  the  beginning 
of  Alexander  Second  betwixt  the  years  1200  and  1220.  And 
if  he  were  witnes  under  that  title  and  designation  at  that  time 
(though  it  be  more  than  ordinarie  antiquitatis],  yet  he  might 
have  so  much  older  standing  in  the  countrie."  In  connection 
with  Agnes  Urquhart,  Lady  Kilravock,  Rose  remarks  \-\  "As 
to  the  familie  of  Cromartie,  whereof  she  was  descended,  it  was 
verie  ancient :  Sir  George  Mackenzie  of  Tarbat,  now  Lord 
Register,  reporting  that  Urquhart  of  Cromartie  and  Rose  of 
Geddes  were  witnesses  in  the  foundation  of  the  Priorie  of 
Bewlie,  which  behooved  to  be  betwixt  the  year  1200  and 
1 220,  as  farr  as  I  can  gather." 

Now  anything  more  certainly  a  forgery  than  to  put  an 
Urquhart  of  Cromarty  as  witness  to  a  charter  of  1230,  cannot 
be  conceived.  William  de  Montealto  was  sheriff  of  Cromarty 
in  1263.  In  1315  King  Robert  the  Bruce  granted  the  sheriff- 
dom  and  burgh  of  Cromarty  to  Hugh,  son  and  heir  of  William, 
Earl  of  Ross;  and  before  1349  King  David  II.  granted,  on 
the  resignation  of  William,  Earl  of  Ross,  son  of  this  Hugh 
(Hugh  having  fallen  at  Halidon  Hill,  St  Margaret's  Day, 
22d  July  1333),  the  sheriffdom  of  Cromarty  to  Adam  Ur- 
quhart. This  was  the  first  grant  of  Cromarty  made  to  the 
Urquharts.J 

It  is  perfectly  clear  that  the  foundation  deed  of  Beauly  seen 
by  Sir  George  Mackenzie,  first  Earl  of  Cromarty,  must  have 
been  a  forgery  ;  just  such  a  fabrication  as  the  grant  of  Kintail 

*  Hist.  Fam.  Kilravock,  Spalding  Club,  p.  26.  t  /#•,  p.  70. 

J  Orig.  Par.  Scot.,  vol.  ii.,  "Cromarty." 


30      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

to  Colin  the  Irishman  by  King  Alexander  III.,  the  earliest 
copy  of  which  is  said  to  be  in  the  handwriting  of  the  same 
Earl  of  Cromarty.*  What  was  the  document  seen  by 
Spottiswoode  is  not  so  clear,  but  it  is  worth  while  to  bestow 
a  little  investigation  on  a  matter  so  interesting  as  the  foun- 
dation charter  of  the  priory  which  it  is  our  object  to  illus- 
trate. 

Walter  Macfarlane  of  Macfarlane,  to  whose  zeal  for  the 
preservation  of  ancient  charters  we  owe  the  transcripts  of  the 
Beauly  writs,  was  son  of  John  Macfarlane  of  Macfarlane  by 
his  wife  Helen,  daughter  of  Robert,  third  Viscount  Arbuthnot. 
After  the  death  of  John  Macfarlane,  Helen,  his  widow,  Walter's 
mother,  married  in  1710  John  Spottiswoode,  advocate,  who, 
having  published  a  valuable  work  on  law  and  taught  a 
Scottish  law  class,  was  likely  to  have  access  to  the  same 
sources  of  information  as  the  Lord  Justice  General,  the  Earl 
of  Cromarty.  John  Spottiswoode  died  in  1728,  and  his 
edition  of  Hope's  "Minor  Practicks,"  printed  in  1734  by  his 
son,  had  appended  to  it  his  account  of  the  Religious  Houses 
in  Scotland.  It  is  probable,  we  have  seen,  that  the  Beauly 
charters  were  transcribed  between  1734  and  1738,  from  their 
position  among  the  Macfarlane  transcripts.  Now  it  is  remark- 
able that  John  Spottiswoode,  in  his  account  of  Beauly,  men- 
tions no  document,  except  this  foundation  deed,  other  than 
those  transcribed  by  his  step-son,  Macfarlane ;  and  it  seems 
most  likely  that  Macfarlane  had  access  to  the  so-called  deed 
of  foundation,  but  that  he  rejected  it  as  a  forgery,  and  would 
not  allow  his  transcriber  to  copy  it.-f- 

Another  forgery  in  connection  with  the  foundation  deed 
requires  only  a  simple  statement  to  secure  its  detection. 
The  MS.  historian  of  the  Fraser  family,  in  the  Advocates 
Library,  t  whom  we  have  already  quoted  as  to  the  date  of 

*  Orig.  Par.  Scot.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  391. 

t  For  the  care  which  Walter  Macfarlane  took  in  revising  and  authenticating  his 
transcripts,  see  instances  in  Robertson's  Introduction  to  the  Register  of  Paisley, 
published  by  the  Maitland  Club,  p.  viii.,  note. 

J  Adv.  Lib.  MSS.,  Genealog.  Coll.,  35,  4,  8,  p.  411. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      31 

foundation,  adds  :  "  I  saw  the  originall  charter  given  to  John 
Bisset  by  Macdonald,  which  begins  in  these  terms :  '  Ego 
Donaldus  Insularum  Rex,  &c.,  Dono  et  concesso  amico  nostro 
charissimo  Johanni  Bizet  D°  de  Lovat  totum  et  integras 
terras  de  Achterloss  Idem  Montessen,  Eq. ;'  and  the  charter 
closes  thus  :  '  Datum  apud  castrum  nostrum  de  Dingwall  anno 
a  partu  Virginis  M.CC.XLIII  v.  Idis  Julii  anno  II.  Innocentii  iiii. 
S.  D.  N.  Pontificis  optimi  maximi  coram  consanguineis  et 
Consiliariis  nostris  M'Lean  de  Lews  et  M'Leod  de  Harris.' " 
Except  to  show  the  extent  of  the  possessions  of  John  Byset, 
what  object  the  historian  of  the  Erasers  could  have  in  putting 
forward  this  charter,  it  is  difficult  to  perceive ;  but  Dempster, 
in  his  "  Apparatus,"  connects  Byset  and  Auchterless  and 
Beauly  thus:*  "  Bewlin  in  Rossia ;  ordinis  Vallis  Caulium 
qui  ingressus  Scotiam  fertur  anno  1230"  (Scotichronicon, 
lib.  ix.,  cap.  xlvii.).  "  Hunc  prioratum  vero  fundavit  Joannes 
Biset,  a  quo  nos  Dempsteri  habuimus  Achterlos,  praecipuam 
familiae  nostrse  hac  tempestate  patrimoniam."  The  whole 
of  the  forged  charter  quoted  in  the  MS.  is  printed  in  the 
annals  of  the  Erasers  :*f  "  Ego  Donaldus  Insularum  Rex  tenore 
presentium,  do  dono  et  concede  amico  nostro .  dignissimo 
Domino  Johanni  Bisset.  D.  de  J.  totas  et  integras  terras  de 
Achterlos  et  Mancester,  cum  omnibus  ad  eas  pertinentibus 
tarn  infra  quam  supra  terram  hacce  in  provincia  Barniae 
jacentes  idque  sibi  et  suis  successoribus  in  perpetuum  char- 
tamque  hanc  firmam  et  stabilem  iis  teneamur,  quam  nostro 
sigillo  et  chirographo  confirmamus  et  attestamus,  apud  cas- 
trum nostrum  de  Dingwall  coram  consanguineis  et  consili- 
ariis  nostris  charissimis  M'Leod  de  Lewis  et  M'Leod  de 
Harise ;  die  decimo  nono  Idus  Jan  anno  a  Christo  nato 
MCCXXV  anno  pontificatus.  S.  D.  N.  Gregorii  ix.  P.  O.  N. 
primo  Pontificis  optimi  maximi.  S.  M.  P." 

The  nineteenth  day  before  the  Ides! — But  we  have  dwelt  too 
long  on  this  rubbish. 

*  Dempster's  App.  De  Religione,  cap.  19,  Ixxx.     In  fact,  the  name  of  Dempster 
does  not  appear  on  record  till  1296. 
t  Annals  of  the  Frasers,  1795,  P-  24- 


32      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 


NO.  II. 

CARTA  WILLIELMI  BYSETH  DE  ECCLESIA  DE 

ABERTERTH  FACTA  FRATRIBUS  DE  BELLO  LOCO 

ORDINIS  VALLIS  CAULIUM. 

Ex  AUTOGRAPHO  [1231]. 

"  Omnibus  hoc  scriptum  visuris  vel  audituris  Willielmus  Byseth 
Salutem.  Sciant  prsesentes  et  futuri  me  dedisse,  et  concessisse,  et 
hac  Carta  mea  confirmasse  pro  salute  animae  meae,  et  animarum 
patris  et  matris  meae,  et  omnium  antecessorum  et  successorum 
meorum  Ecclesiam  de  Aberterth  Deo  et  Beatae  Marias,  et  B°  Johanni 
Baptistae  et  Domui  de  Bello  loco  et  Fratribus  Vallis  caulium  in  eadem 
Deo  servientibus  et  servituris  in  liberam  puram  et  perpetuam  Elee- 
mosynam,  cum  omnibus  ad  eandem  Ecclesiam  juste  pertinentibus, 
in  terns,  decimis,  oblationibus,  obventionibus  et  omnimodis  Ecclesi- 
asticis  rectitudinibus.  Testibus  Andrea  Moraviensi  Episcopo,  Dun- 
cano  Decano,  Ranulfo  Archidiacono  Moraviensi,  Radulpho  Capel- 
lano  Episcopi  praedicti,  Johanne  Bridin  Capellanis,  Domino  Johanne 
fratre  meo,  Bartholomaeo  Flandrensi,  Hugone  Corbet,  Gillandes 
Macysac,  Hugone  Augustini,  Godefrido  Arbalaster,  Henrico  Cuch, 
Yone  Venatore  et  pluribus  alijs." 

"  Not. — The  seal  white  wax,  on  a  shield  plain  a  bend ;  no  crown, 
the  circumference  not  legible." 

The  preceding  charter  is  a  grant  by  William  Byset,  his 
brother  John  and  the  officials  of  the  church  of  Moray  being 
witnesses,  of  the  church  of  Abertarf  (Aberterth)  to  God,  and 
the  blessed  Mary, .  and  the  blessed  John  Baptist,  and  the 
House  of  Beauly,  and  the  Valliscaulian  brethren  there  serving 
God,  in  pure  and  perpetual  frankalmoigne,  with  all  the  perti- 
nents of  the  same  church,  in  lands,  tithes,  oblations,  obven- 
tions,  and  all  kind  of  ecclesiastical  rights.  Among  the  wit- 
nesses are  Bartholomew  the  Fleming,  who  witnesses  a  charter 
of  King  Alexander  II.  in  1235,  and  the  Bishop,  Dean,  and 
Archdeacon  of  Moray ;  notwithstanding  which  we  get  sub- 
sequently a  confirmation  of  the  grant  by  the  bishop. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      33 

The  seal  has  the  arms  of  Byset,  "on  a  shield  plain;  a  bend." 
The  transcriber  adds,  "  no  crown  ; "  the  opinion  then  prevail- 
ing that  the  crowns  quartered  in  the  Fraser  of  Lovat  coat 
were  the  arms  of  Byset :  whereas  they  are  the  arms  of  Grant. 
This  simple  ordinary  shows  the  antiquity  of  the  Byset  achieve- 
ment. The  same  coat  is  given  by  Sir  David  Lyndsay,  in 
1542,  with  the  tinctures,  the  field  azure,  and  the  bend  argent, 
as  the  arms  of — 

"  Lord  Bissart  of  Bewfort  of  auld." 

These  coats  are  identical,  the  tinctures  are  not  blazoned  in 
engraving  till  a  much  later  date,  and  this  coat  is  the  arms  of 
the  founder  of  Beauly  Priory.* 

The  parish  of  Abertarff  is  first  mentioned  in  the  foundation 
deed  of  the  College  of  Canons,  by  Bricius,  Bishop  of  Moray, 
between  1203  and  1216;  to  this  Gillebred  Persona  de  Aber- 
tarff is  a  witness.-f-  The  next  time  it  is  mentioned  is  in  an 
agreement  between  Thomas  de  Thyrlestan  and  Andreas, 
Bishop  of  Moray,  in  12254  This  agreement  mentions  the 
tithes  of  the  royal  Can,  which  tithes  were  wont  to  be  paid 
before  the  infeftment  of  Thomas,  out  of  the  land  of  Abertarff. 
This  reference  to  the  tithes  payable  out  of  what  was  coming 
to  the  Crown,  is  the  same  we  have  before  observed  in  the 
agreements  of  John  Byset  with  relation  to  Kirkhill ;  and  it 
shows  that  William  the  Lion  had  granted  to  the  church  a 
tenth  of  the  rent  in  kind,  which  was  paid  to  the  Crown  by 
the  owners  of  land  in  Moray,  as  well  as  a  tenth  of  the  money 
rent  which  was  so  payable.  § 

Thomas  de  Thyrlstan  was  the  proprietor  of  Thirlstane,  in 
Berwickshire ;  and  it  is  said,  as  we  have  before  mentioned,  || 
that  Gillespie  in  1228  raised  an  insurrection  in  Moray,  burnt 

*  Sir  David  Lyndsay's  Heraldry,  Edin.  1822.  f  Reg.  Moray. 

J  Reg.  Moray. 

§  King  William,  by  a  precept  in  the  Register  of  Moray  (p  2),  1171-84,  directs 
his  bailiffs  of  Moray  to  pay  to  the  church  of  Moray  and  the  bishop  there  the  tithes 
of  all  his  rents  in  Moray  and  of  his  rents  in  kind,  which  had  not  been  granted  to 
other  churches  by  himself  or  his  ancestors. 

||  Bower's  Interpolation  to  Fordun. 

C 


34      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

some  wooden  castles,  and  surprised  and  slew  a  baron  called 
Thomas  de  Thirl stan,  to  whom  Malcolm  IV.  had  given  the 
district  of  Abertarff.  This  must  be  the  same  Thomas  de 
Thirlstan.  He  was  succeeded  at  Thirlstan  by  Richard  Mait- 
land,  who  is  said  to  have  married  his  daughter,  and  about 
1260  gives  lands  in  the  territory  of  Thirlstane  to  the  monks 
of  Dryburgh,  excepting  the  third  part  to  the  Lady  Agnes, 
formerly  the  wife  of  Thomas  de  Thirlstan,  for  her  life.* 

This  charter  of  William  Byset,  from  a  witness  being  Dun- 
can, the  dean  of  Moray,  is  probably  of  the  date  1231,  as  in 
1232  Symon  became  dean  of  Moray,  and  continued  dean  until 
he  succeeded  to  the  bishopric  in  1242  ;  and  in  1228  Freskin 
was  dean  of  Moray. 

We  find  among  the  suggestive  and  ill-understood  list  of 
the  charters  in  the  Treasury  at  Edinburgh,  made  up  in  1282,-f 
the  following  items  relating  to  this  subject,  although  others 
intervene : 

"  Item.  Carta  de  Abirtarf.     .     .     . 

"  It.  Carta  Thome  de  Thirliston. 

"  It.  Littera  quiete  clamationis  Ricardi  Mauteland  de  tra 
de  Abyrtharf. 

"  It.  Carta  Walteri  Byset  de  Stratharkik. 

"  It.  Carta  de  Obeyn." 

Walter  Byset,  Lord  of  Obeyn  (Aboyne),  according  to  the 
Chronicle  of  Melrose,  was  uncle  of  John  Byset,  and  there- 
fore of  William  Byset,  John's-  brother;  and  the  charter  of 
Walter  Byset  of  Stratherrick  means,  according  to  the  usual 
form  of  entries  in  these  early  lists,  not  a  charter  from  Walter 
Byset  of  the  lands  of  Stratherrick,  but  a  charter  belonging 
to  Walter  Byset  by  which  he  holds  the  lands  of  Stratherrick. 
Whether  Stratherrick  then  included  Abertarff  or  not  is  uncer- 
tain ;  afterwards  Stratherrick  was  styled  a  pertinent  of  the 
barony  of  Abertarff  ;|  but  the  present  charter  and  these 

*  Thomas  de  Thirlstan  had,  by  charter  without  date,  granted  the  tithes  of  his 
mill  of  Thirlstane  to  the  canons  of  Dryburgh  (Reg.  de  Driburg,  p.  87). 
+  Act.  Parl.  Scot.,  vol.  i.  N  Robertson's  Index,  preface,  p.  xxiv. 
J  Memoir  for  Hugh,  Lord  Lovat,  p.  22. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      35 

entries  prove  that  Walter  Byset  was  about  this  time  the 
proprietor  of  Stratherrick,  and  William  Byset  patron  jof  the 
church  of  Abertarff. 

In  the  grant  of  the  church  of  Kiltarlity  to  the  Leper  House 
at  Rathven,  at  the  end  of  the  list  of  witnesses,  appears  *  "  W. 
Byset  gyntallarty  ;"  •(•  and  it  is  suggested  William  Byset  was 
parson  of  Kiltarlity,  the  parish  created  by  his  brother  John, 
and  the  grant  of  which  to  Rathven  he  witnesses. 

This  is  not  probable,  nor  is  there  any  occasion  on  which  his 
name  appears  as  an  ecclesiastic.  It  was  an  unusual  circum- 
stance then  for  a  churchman  to  be  himself  the  patron  in  his 
lay  right  of  a  parish  and  also  the  incumbent ;  and  the  form 
of  grant  of  Abertarff  clearly  shows  William  Byset  to  have 
been  the  patron.  The  Bishop  of  Moray,  in  confirming  his 
grant,  styles  him  "  nobilis  vir."  He  with  his  brother  John  is 
a  witness  to  a  charter  of  King  Alexander  II.  in  1225,  while 
Abertarff  was  the  property  of  Thomas  de  Thirlstan,  and  he 
and  Walter  Byset  are  witnesses  in  1225  to  another  charter  of 
King  Alexander  II.  William  is  a  witness  to  several  royal 
charters ;  and  the  last  occasion  on  which  he  appears  is  together 
with  Walter  Byset  as  witness  to  the  grant  by  Robert  Byset, 
Lord  of  Upsetlington,  with  the  assent  of  Christiana,  wife  of 
Robert  (whose  consent  implies  that  Upsetlington  was  her 
property)  of  the  Hospital  of  St  Leonard  of  Upsetlington  to 
the  monastery  of  Kelso.J  This  Robert  is  expressly  called  by 
Walter  Byset  of  Aboyne,  in  Walter's  obligation,  to  respect 
the  rights  of  "  Robert  my  cousin."§ 

We  have  thus  the  family  of  Byset  in  the  year  1240  pos- 
sessing the  estates  following :  Walter  is  lord  of  Aboyne, 
and  resided  at  Aboyne  Castle,  Aberdeenshire ;  his  nephew, 
John,  is  lord  of  the  Aird,  and  resided  at  either  Lovat  or 
Beaufort,  Inverness-shire ;  another  nephew,  William,  is  patron 
of  the  church,  and  probable  owner  of  the  estate  of  Aber- 
tarff, in  the  same  county  ;  and  Robert  Byset,  cousin  of  Walter 
Byset,  is  the  lord  of  Upsetlington,  in  Berwickshire. 

*  O.  S.  P.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  509.  t  Reg.  Moray,  72. 

t  Reg.  de  Kelso,  p.  195.  §  Ib.,  p.  191. 


36      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

In  the  witnessing  part  of  the  charter  John  Byset  our  founder 
is  called  "  Domino  Johanne  fratre  meo ;"  but  it  does  not  ap- 
pear from  any  record  that  he  was  one  of  the  barons  of  the 
kingdom.  Before  the  Act  1427  no  general  rule  can  be  laid 
down  for  distinguishing  between  one  holder  of  a  property 
directly  from  the  Crown  and  another,  and  the  expressions 
"  nobilis  vir"  and  "  dominus,"  in  the  charters  of  subjects,  at 
all  events  go  for  nothing  in  establishing  any  parliamentary 
dignity;  the  premier  baron  of  Scotland  claims  no  higher 
creation  than  1436. 


No.  III. 

CARTA  ANDREW  MORAVIENSIS  EPISCOPI  DE  DECIMIS 

GARBARUM  ET  SALMONUM  PAROCHLE 

DE  ABERTARFF. 

"  Universis  Sanctae  Matris  Ecclesiae  filijs  hoc  scrrptum  visuris  vel 
audituris,  Andreas  divina  permissione  Moraviensis  Episcopus  aeternam 
in  Domino  Salutem.  Noveritis  universi,  nos  de  consensu  Capituli 
nostri  dedisse,  concessisse,  et  hac  carta  nostra  confirmasse  Deo  et 
Beatae  Marias,  et  Beato  Johanni  Baptistae,  et  Domui  Belli  loci  juxta 
Beaufort,  et  fratribus  ordinis  Vallis  Caulium  ibidem  Deo  servientibus 
et  servituris  in  perpetuum,  omnes  Decimas  Garbarum  provenientium 
infra  Parochiam  Ecclesiae  de  Abertarf  cum  terra  pertinente  ad  eandem 
Ecclesiam,  et  cum  Decima  Salmonum  de  omnibus  piscarijs  in  prae- 
dictse  Ecclesias  parochia  existentibus,  nomine  simplicis  Beneficii. 
Quam  Ecclesiam  nobilis  vir  Willielmus  Byseth  eisdem  fratribus  et 
sibi  successuris  dedit,  et  concessit,  et  carta  sua  confirmavit,  in  puram 
et  perpetuam  Eleemosynam.  Quare  volumus  et  concedimus,  quod 
praedicta  domus  de  Bello  loco,  et  fratres  praedicti  dictas  decimas 
omnes  Garbarum  infra  parochiam  praefatae  Ecclesiae  provenientes, 
cum  tota  terra  ad  eandem  Ecclesiam  pertinente,  et  cum  Decima  Sal- 
monum de  praedictis  Piscarijs  omnibus,  in  ipsa  Parochia  existentibus, 
habeant  et  possideant  nomine  simplicis  beneficij,  in  puram  et  per- 
petuam Eleemosynam  ad  sustentationem  eorum  adeo  libere,  quiete, 
plenarie,  et  honorifice,  sicut  aliquod  simplex  beneficium  in  Diocoesi 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      37 

nostra,  ab  aliquo  liberius,  quietius,  plenarius,  et  honorificentius  habe- 
tur,  tenetur,  et  possidetur.  In  hujus  autem  rei  firmum  et  indubitabile 
testimonium  huic  Scripto  appensum  est  Sigillum  nostrum  et  Sigillum 
capituli  nostri  Subscriptionibus  Canonicorum.  Testibus  Symone  De- 
cano  Majore  Magistro  Ricardo  Praecentore,  Magistro  Henrico  Cancel- 
lario,  Roberto  Thesaurario,  Magistris  Willielmo  et  Andrea  Canonicis 
Ecclesiae  Moraviensis  Radulpho  et  Symone  Capellanis  Moraviensibus 
et  alijs  multis. 

>J«  Ego,  ANDREAS,  Episcopus   Moraviensis,  Com.  de   Fotherum, 

Subscribe. 

*%*  Ego,  ARCHEBALDUS,  Canonicus  de  Crom.,  Subscribo. 
t^t  Ego,  RAN.,  Archidiaconus  Moraviensis,  Subscribo. 
t%t  Ego,  PETRUS,  Canonicus  Moraviensis,  Subscribo. 
>%*  Ego,  RAD.  HAY,  Canonicus  de     .     .     .     Subscribo. 
>%*  Ego,  WILLIELMUS,  Canonicus  de  Pett,  Subscribo. 
frj*  Ego,  SYMON,  Decanus  Moraviensis  Ecclesiae,  Subscribo. 
*f<  Ego,  RICARD.,  Prsecento  Ecclesiae  Moraviensis,  Subscribo. 
»|«  Ego,  HENRICUS,  Cancellarius  Moraviensis,  Subscribo. 
>%*  Ego,  ROBERTUS,  Thesaurarius  Moraviensis,  Subscribo. 
»J«  Ego,  ROBERTUS,  Canonicus  de  Duppel,  Subscribo. 
*%*  Ego,  ANDREAS,  Canonicus  de  Simm.,  Subscribo. 
>%<  Ego,  WILLIELMUS,  Canonicus  de  Dunbanne,  Subscribo. 
t%*  Ego,  LAMBERTUS,  Moraviensis  Ecclesias  Subcentor,  Subscribo. 
*%*  Ego,  EDWARDUS,  Canonicus  de  Muy,  Subscribo." 

This  instrument  is  the  confirmation  in  1242  by  Andrew, 
Bishop  of  Moray  (within  whose  diocese  or  province  the  parish 
of  Abertarff  lay),  of  the  grant  of  it  by  William  Byset. 

This  confirmation  had  the  effect  of  wholly  appropriating 
the  church  of  Abertarff  and  its  possessions  to  the  use  of  the 
priory ;  making  the  convent  the  perpetual  rector,  and  not 
merely  the  patron,  as  if  the  grant  of  the  church  had  been  to 
a  layman ;  such  a  grant  required  the  confirmation  of  the 
Ordinary,  the  Crown,  and  the  Pope,  though  in  these  early 
times  the  confirmation  of  the  Ordinary  assumed  or  inferred 
the  other  two. 

The  expressions  by  which  the  appropriation  is  effected  are 
not  the  usual  ones,  that  the  convent  should  hold  the  church 


38      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

"  ad  proprios  usus,"  but  "  ad  sustentationem  eorum."  The 
same  expression  occurs  in  other  charters  of  the  period  ;*  the 
bishop  grants  the  church  to  be  held  "  as  a  simple  benefice," 
that  is,  free  from  the  cure  of  souls  and  under  no  obligation 
beyond  that  expressed  in  the  grant.-f* 

In  this  charter  we  have  the  first  mention  of  Beaufort,  and  it 
is  probable  that  John  Byset,  after  he  endowed  the  parish  of 
Kiltarlity  and  introduced  the  foreign  appellation  of  Beaulieu 
as  the  name  of  the  priory  which  he  founded,  built  the  castle  of 
Beaufort,  and  gave  it  a  foreign  name.  Sir  David  Lyndsay 
speaks  of  the  Bissarts  of  Beaufort,  and  we  may  assume  that 
John  Byset  made  this  a  place  of  residence  instead  of  Lovat, 
while  it  evidently  became  of  great  consequence  when  it  was 
inhabited  by  his  descendants  the  Fentons  of  Beaufort.  It 
must  not,  however,  be  thought  that  the  castles  of  the  time 
of  Alexander  II.  in  Scotland,  or  Henry  III.  in  England, 
were  anything  in  size,  strength,  or  importance,  like  the  Ed- 
wardian castles  of  Henry's  son.  In  Henry  III.'s  time,  in 
England  there  were  1153  castles,  |  and  many  of  these  had 
nothing  but  the  great  hall§  built  of  stone;  all  the  other 
buildings  were  of  wood,  surrounded  by  a  wall,  which  would 
be  quite  a  sufficient  defence  against  all  attacks  except  by  a 
military  force. 

The  confirmation  expressly  includes  the  tithes  of  grain 
(Garbarum,  sheaves)  grown  in  the  parish  of  Abertarff,  showing 
that  the  principle  of  tithes  belonging  to  the  parish  priest  was 
completely  established ;  and  also  the  tithes  of  salmon  in  all 
the  fishings  within  the  parish,  showing  that  salmon  were  then 
frequent  in  the  waters  of  Abertarff  parish ;  that  must  have 
been,  as  Abertarff  is  at  the  upper  end  of  Loch  Ness,  mostly 

*  Chart.  Dunfermline,  fol.  23. 

•\  "  The  canonists  divided  benefices  into  simple  and  mixed.  The  first  sort  lays 
no  obligation  but  to  read  prayers,  sing,  etc. ;  such  kind  of  beneficiaries  are  canons, 
chaplains,  chanters.  The  second  is  charged  with  the  cure  of  souls,  the  guidance 
and  direction  of  consciences,  etc.,  such  as  rectories,  vicarages,  etc."  (Hook's  Church 
Dictionary,  art.  "Benefices"). 

J  Coke,  Second  Institute,  cap.  17. 

?  Hudson  Turner,  Domestic  Architecture  of  England,  vol.  i.,  p.  59. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      39 

in  Loch  Ness  itself.  The  Statistical  Account  of  1842  says 
that  some  years  before  salmon  was  plentiful  in  Loch  Ness,  but 
that  since  the  Caledonian  Canal  has  been  opened,  they  have 
very  much  decreased. 

The  practice  seems  not  yet  to  have  got  into  use  of  giving 
the  tithe  of  fish  to  the  vicar,  or  if  this  tithe  was  usually  assigned 
to  the  vicar,  the  priory  seems  to  have  determined  to  reserve  the 
tithe  of  salmon  to  themselves,  as  they  get  the  bishop  to  specify 
this  as  well  as  the  great  tithe  or  tithes  of  corn.  When  the 
vicar  of  Abertarff  was  first  established  is  not  clear ;  the  pro- 
vision for  a  toft  and  croft,  secured  by  the  bishop  in  1225  from 
Thomas  de  Thirlstane,*  was  for  the  rector. 

This  act  of  confirmation  by  the  bishop  of  the  diocese  was  a 
very  important  step,  as  it  deprived  the  minister  of  the  parish 
of  the  tithes  of  the  parish,  and  was  derogatory  of  the  rights  of 
the  parishioners;  and  the  solemnities  which  accompany  it  are 
remarkable,  and  show  that  the  bishop  acted  with  the  consent 
of  his  proper  council,  the  chapter  of  the  cathedral,  although 
no  property  or  rights  of  the  cathedral  were  affected.  Neither 
bishop  nor  chapter  had  any  rights  of  property  in  the  tithes 
and  lands  then  belonging  to  the  church  of  Abertarff.  The 
confirmation  is  first  said  to  be  made  with  the  consent  of  the 
chapter,  and  the  seal  of  the  chapter,  as  well  as  of  the  bishop, 
is  annexed  to  it,  with  the  signatures  of  the  canons. 

The  chapter  had  been  fully  organised  by  Bishop  Bricius. 
It  had  its  five  dignitaries :  the  dean,  who  in  the  bishop's 
absence  presided  over  the  chapter,  and  was  the  general 
president  of  the  whole  institution  ;  the  archdeacon,  who  was 
the  alter  Episcopi  oculus,  visited  the  diocese,  and  examined 
and  presented  to  the  bishop  for  approval  the  candidates  for 
orders ;  the  precentor,  who  had  control  of  the  cathedral  ser- 
vices, and  especially  of  those  choral  services  which  make  up 
the  full  pomp  and  swell  of  the  liturgies  of  a  cathedral  church  ; 
the  chancellor,  who  probably  acted  as  the  chancellor  of  the 
diocese,  the  proper  judge  of  the  bishop's  court,  but  was,  as 
a  member  of  the  chapter,  chancellor  of  the  cathedral,  whose 

*  Reg.  Moray. 


40      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

office  was  to  instruct  the  younger  canons,  and  who  was  the 
secretary  of  the  chapter,  and  the  keeper  of  the  chapter  seal ; 
and  the  treasurer,  who  had  the  special  charge  of  the  orna- 
ments of  the  church.  These  dignitaries  all  consent.  The 
bishop  himself  consents  in  his  double  capacity  as  canon  of 
Fotheross,  which,  although  assigned  by  Bricius  to  the  chan- 
cellor, the  bishop  now  held.  The  sub -chanter  also  joins, 
whose  office  it  was  to  fill  the  important  place  of  the  precentor 
in  his  absence,  so  that  the  daily  service  of  the  choir  might  not 
be  neglected.  Besides  the  dignitaries,  eight  of  the  ordinary 
canons  sign,  some  with  the  special  addition  of  the  parish, 
which  had  been  appropriated  as  the  prebend  of  their  canonry, 
and  some  with  the  mere  addition  of  canon  of  Moray. 

Many  of  the  instruments  of  Bishop  Andrew,  in  the  Register 
of  Moray,  are  subscribed  by  the  members  of  the  chapter,  and 
from  a  careful  examination  I  am  inclined  to  fix  the  date  of 
this  deed  as  1242.  Two  chaplains  of  Moray  ("  Capellani  Mora- 
vienses  ")  are  witnesses,  but  they  do  not  subscribe  as  members 
of  the  chapter,  and  answer,  I  suspect,  to  the  position  of  minor 
canons  in  our  English  cathedrals. 

He  who  wishes  to  understand  the  constitution  of  the  chapter 
of  Elgin  has  only  to  pass  from  the  ruins  of  its  cathedral, 
with  its  ancient  register  in  hand,  to  the  cathedral  city  of 
Wells,  to  find  the  institutions  of  a  chapter  organised  at  the 
same  time  as  that  of  Elgin,  still  kept  up,  with  the  exception 
that  in  the  diocese  of  Wells,  as  afterwards  in  the  province  of 
Moray,  the  bishop  has  emancipated  himself  from  the  whole- 
some control  of  his  capitular  council.* 

Symon,  dean  of  the  cathedral  church,  styles  himself  "  De- 
canus  Major,"  the  greater  dean,  to  distinguish  himself  from 
the  deans  of  the  four  deaneries  into  which  the  diocese  was 
divided,  being  the  deanery  of  Elgin,  the  deanery  of  Inverness, 
the  deanery  of  Strathbogy,  and  the  deanery  of  Strathspey. 
These  deans  were  called  "Decani  Christianitatis,"  or  Deans 
Christian,  and  ecclesiastical  courts  were  commonly  called,  and 
indeed  are  now  in  England  called,  Courts  Christian.  These 
*  Freeman's  Lectures  on  Wells,  and  Proceedings  of  Somerset  Archseolog.  Soc.  1873. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      41 

Deans  Christian  were  so  called,  says  Bishop  Kennet,*  "  be- 
cause their  chapters  were  courts  of  Christianity  or  ecclesiastical 
judicature,  wherein  they  censured  their  offending  brethren, 
and  maintained  the  discipline  of  the  Church  within  their 
own  precincts."  They  afterwards  were  called  rural  deans,f 
but  it  is  likely  that  at  first  the  dean  of  the  cathedral  of  Elgin 
was  also  the  dean  of  the  rural  deanery  of  Elgin. 

Before  the  date  of  our  next  charter,  an  important  event 
occurred,  which  has  strangely  coloured  the  history  of  the 
family  of  Byset.  It  is  the  banishment  of  John  Byset,  the 
founder  of  Beauly  Priory,  with  his  uncle  Walter,  Lord  of 
Aboyne.  In  1242,  Patrick,  Earl  of  Athol,  son  of  Thomas  de 
Galloway,  and  nephew  of  Walter  Byset's  wife,  was  burnt  after 
a  tournament  at  Haddington. 

Matthew  Paris,  writing  about  1250,  states  that  in  1242 
Walter  Byset  at  the  tournament  was  worsted  by  the  young 
Earl  of  Athol,  and  that  Walter  Byset  contrived  to  burn  the 
house  in  which  the  earl  slept,  and  the  earl  with  it.  When 
this  came,  he  adds,  to  the  knowledge  of  Earl  Patrick  and 
other  nobles,  they  attacked  Walter,  who  fled  for  protection  to 
the  king.  The  king  promised  the  nobles  that  Walter  should 
be  disinherited,  and  should  abjure  Scotland.  Walter  swore 
to  proceed  to  the  Holy  Land,  but  went  instead  to  the  King 
of  England,  and,  complaining  that  he  had  been  unjustly 
deprived  of  his  inheritance,  urged  that  the  King  of  Scotland, 
being  the  liege  vassal  of  the  King  of  England,  could  not, 
without  his  consent,  disinherit  or  banish  a  nobleman  from  his 
country  for  ever,  especially  if  he  was  not  convicted  of  a  crime. 
The  King  of  England  was  incensed,  but  reserved  his  anger 
till  a  more  suitable  opportunity. 

The  Chronicle  of  Melrose,  written  not  later  than  1270, 
states  that  in  1242,  John  Byset,  with  Walter  J  Byset  and  other 

*  Kennel's  Parochial  Antiquities,  234. 

f  "  Decanus  ruralis  "  is  the  title  of  Adam  Gobinot  in  the  Inquisition  touching 
the  chapel  of  Kilravock,  A.D.  1343  (Family  of  Kilravock,  p.  117). 

J  Mr  Stevenson,  in  his  edition  of  the  Chronicle  for  the  Bannatyne  Club,  inserts 
dicti  Willielmi ;  but  I  have  been  informed  since  writing  the  text,  that  in  the  MS. 
from  which  the  Bannatyne  edition  is  printed  it  is  "  W.,"  that  is,  Walteri. 


42      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

accomplices,  was  outlawed,  because  report  asserted  that  the 
said  John,  with  the  advice  of  the  said  Walter,  had  delivered 
Patrick  of  Athol  to  death.  It  also  records  that  in  1244,  the 
most  wicked  traitor,*  Walter  Byset,  with  his  accomplices,  de- 
sisted not  from  pouring  the  poison  of  discord  into  the  ears 
of  Henry,  King  of  England,  until  he  advanced  to  Newcastle 
with  an  army  against  the  King  of  Scotland,  when  the  treaty 
of  Ponteland  was  made,  24th  August  1244. 

Now,  upon  this  subject,  Fordun  is  often  quoted,  but  For- 
dun's  Scotichronicon  contains  nothing  about  it.  Fordun  men- 
tions the  treaty  made  at  Ponteland,  and  the  account  that  is 
quoted  as  Fordun's  is  that  of  his  commentator,  Bovver,  who 
did  not  write  till  1441.  About  that  time  Wynton  compiled 
his  Chronicle.  He  states  that  William  Byset  was  Lord  of 
Aboyne,  and  that  John  Byset  and  Walter  Byset  were  his 
brothers ;  whereas  William  Byset  does  not  appear  in  con- 
temporary documents  after  1240,  and  we  know  that  Walter 
Byset  was  the  Lord  of  Aboyne. 

Matthew  Paris,  in  his  English  History,  which  is  a  repetition 
of  the  Chronicle  in  which  this  story  of  Walter  Byset  appears, 
does  not  repeat  it ;  but  still  there  it  is,  apparently  in  his 
original  manuscript,  written  within  six  or  seven  years  of  the 
event. 

The  histories  of  Bower  and  Wynton  allege  that  the  estates 
of  the  Bysets  were  all  forfeited,  and  the  whole  family  banished 
the  kingdom,  and  this  has  been  improved  upon  by  later 
Scottish  historians,  till  Mr  Burton  disposes  of  the  matter  thus  : 
"  A  strong  feeling  set  against  the  Bysets.  Their  estates  had 
to  be  forfeited,  and  the  head  of  the  house  escaped  alive  with 
great  difficulty.  The  family  afterwards  pushed  their  fortunes, 
with  the  other  Norman  houses  in  Ireland,  and  their  Highland 

*  This  expression,  "  nefandissimus  proditor,"  is  used  by  John  of  Peterborough, 
and  the  use  of  it  serves  to  show  that  John  wrote  after  the  Chronicle  of  Melrose 
was  compiled,  and  clears  up  the  question  as  to  whether  this  John  was  John  de 
Caleto,  who  was  abbot  1250-62,  or  John  Deeping,  who  was  abbot  in  1410-39 
—  "a  mystery,"  Sir  Thomas  Hardy  writes,  "  I  am  not  able  to  solve"  (Catalogue 
of  MSS.  for  Early  English  History,  vol.  iii.,  p.  216);  "for  the  Chronicle  was  not 
closed  till  1270,  when  John  de  Caleto  was  dead." 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      43 

estates  went  to  the  Frizelles  or  Frasers,  who  founded  an 
influence  which  became  troublesome  to  the  Government  five 
hundred  years  afterwards."*  Seeing  that  the  Frasers  did  not 
get  possession  of  any  portion  of  the  Bysets'  Highland  estates 
till  125  years  after  1242,  and  then  only  of  a  third  of  those 
estates,  two-thirds  of  which  were  acquired  by  the  Fentons  and 
the  Chisholms,  the  former  by  the  peaceful  act  of  marrying  a 
Byset  lady,  this  is  strongly  expressed.  The  only  fact  certain 
in  relation  to  this  matter  is  that  Patrick,  Earl  of  Athol,  was 
burnt  in  1242,  and  that  King  Alexander  II.  assisted  Walter 
and  John  Byset  in  leaving  Scotland,  where  a  strong  party 
accused  them  of  the  murder. 

Matthew  Paris  mentions  among  the  anti-Byset  party  Patrick, 
Earl  of  Dunbar ;  and  Bower  names  David  de  Hastings,  who 
became  Earl  of  Athol  in  right  of  his  wife  on  the  death  of 
Patrick  of  Athol. 

It  is  difficult  to  see  any  motive  for  the  commission  by 
Walter  Byset  of  so  horrible  a  crime.  His  wife  was  aunt  of 
the  young  earl,  but  he  was  not  in  any  way  in  the  line  of 
succession,  while  the  young  earl  had  two  sisters  married ; 
nor  does  it  appear  that  Walter  Byset  had  any  children  by 
his  wife :  his  nephew,  we  shall  see  was  his  heir.  But  it  is 
not  improbable  that  Walter  was  likely  to  make  himself  dis- 
agreeable to  David  de  Hastings  on  his  succession  to  the 
earldom. 

Bower  says  that  after  the  Provincial  Council  held  at  Perth 
in  1242,  the  king,  retiring  with  his  barons,  and  separating 
himself  and  them  from  the  clergy,  all  the  earls  complained  to 
him  of  the  burning  of  the  Earl  of  Athol.-f* 

We  get  more  light  on  the  exile  of  John  and  Walter  Byset 
from  the  English  records.  Henry  III.  became  King  of 
England  in  1216,  when  he  was  nine  years  of  age.  His  sister 
Joan  married  Alexander  II.  in  1221.  He,  in  January  1236, 
married  the  daughter  of  the  Count  of  Provence,  and  mixed 
himself  much  in  French  affairs.  Claiming  the  recovery  of 

*  Burton's  History  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii.,  p.  89. 

t  Ford.  Scotichron.,  ed.  Goodall,  lib.  ix.,  cap.  59. 


44     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Normandy,  he  declared  war  against  Louis  IX.  in  1242,  and 
that  year  went  to  France  and  passed  the  winter  at  Bordeaux. 
There,  in  December  1242,  he  was  in  want  of  soldiers,  and 
must  have  heard  with  pleasure  of  the  banishment  from  Scot- 
land of  John  and  Walter  Byset.  With  his  queen  was  Margaret 
Byset,  now  advanced  in  years,  and  who  had  lost  this  year  her 
cousin,  John  Byset  of  Wiltshire,  Chief  Forester  of  England. 
In  1224  and  1226,  after  the  connection  between  the  Scottish 
and  English  courts  was  established,  and  while  Hubert  de 
Burgh,  brother-in-law  of  Alexander  II.,  was  still  the  supreme 
minister  of  Henry,  the  Close  Rolls  tell  us  that  gifts  were 
made  from  the  Royal  Treasury  to  Walter  Byset,  so  that 
Walter  was  well  known  to  the  English  king. 

John  Byset  went,  in  1242,  from  Scotland  to  Ireland, 
and  there  met  with  Sir  James  de  Savill,  a  knight  in  the 
service  of  the  Justiciary  of  Ireland,  who  suggested  to  John 
that  he  should  serve  the  King  of  England  in  his  wars  in 
Guienne,  upon  the  terms  that  he  should  obtain  the  grant  of  a 
knight's  fee  in  Ireland.  To  this  Byset  agreed,  and  the  king, 
on  i/th  December  1242,  at  Bordeaux,  confirmed  it  by  direct- 
ing a  writ*  to  the  Justiciary  of  Ireland,  ordering  him  to  give 
a  knight's  fee  to  Byset  if  he  would  go  to  parts  beyond  the  sea 
in  the  royal  service. 

This  was  done,  and  we  have  the  extent  of  the  knight's  fee, 
shown  by  a  verdict  of  a  jury  in  the  following  reign.  It  in- 
cluded the  island  of  Rachrin  or  Rathlin,  on  the  coast  of 
Antrim,  destined  afterwards  to  become  famous  as  the  retreat 
of  Robert  the  Bruce,  and  from  being  illustrated  by  the  poetry 
of  Scott.  I  suppose  John  went  to  Bordeaux,  where  Margaret 
Byset  died  that  winter,  and  where  the  king  remained. 

In  August  1243/f-  King  Henry  granted  to  Walter  Byset 
the  manor  of  Lowdham,  in  Nottinghamshire,  adjoining  the 
manor  of  East  Bridgeford,  the  property  of  the  English  Bysets. 
The  object  of  the  grant  was  to  maintain  Walter  in  the  service 
of  the  king  as  long  as  the  king  pleased.  In  the  following 
year,  Henry,  having  returned  from  France,  declared  war 

*  Pat.  and  Chart.,  27  Hen.  III.,  p.  739.  t  /£,  In.  4. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      45 

against  Scotland,  and  advanced  in  the  summer  with  an  army 
to  Newcastle.  The  Chronicle  of  Melrose  informs  us  this  was 
at  the  instigation  of  Walter  Byset,  who,  probably,  as  well  as 
John,  accompanied  the  king. 

The  leading  families  of  the  two  nations  were  so  connected 
by  marriage  and  blood,  that  it  was  not  difficult  for  those 
who  loved  peace  to  arrange  the  treaty  which  was  made  at 
Ponteland  in  1244;  and  not  only  was  it  confirmed  by  the 
King  of  Scotland's  charter  (which  is  printed  in  Rymer),  but 
also  by  the  Pope's  Bull,  obtained  on  a  letter  from  the  earls 
and  barons  of  Scotland.*  This  letter  is  given  by  Matthew 
Paris  (1244) ;  it  has,  after  the  great  earls  of  Scotland,  the 
names  of  Duncan  of  Argyle,  the  founder  of  Ardchattan,  and 
of  John  Byset  the  younger. 

It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  John  Byset,  founder  of  Beauly 
Priory,  on  his  being  compelled  to  foreign  exile,  made  over 
his  barony  of  the  Aird,  with  his  other  estates  adjoining,  to  his 
son,  John  Byset  the  younger ;  and  the  John  Byset  whom  we 
shall  find  acting  as  Lord  of  Lovat  in  1258  was  this  John 
Byset  the  younger.  John  Byset  the  elder,  with  Walter, 
returned  to  Ireland,  and  came  from  Ireland  in  October  1244, 
to  the  king  in  Wales ;  and  afterwards  Walter  Byset  received 
two  of  the  king's  shields  from  Windsor  Castle  armoury,  to 
go  into  the  king's  service  in  Ireland. 

It  is  said  by  Bower/J-  that  Alan,  illegitimate  son  of  Thomas 
of  Galloway,  and  the  natural  half-brother  of  Patrick,  the  earl 
who  was  burnt,  landed  and  burnt  a  certain  small  house 
belonging  to  John  Byset,  called  Viteris,  to  revenge  his  brother's 
death.  It  is  certain  that  in  1252,  this  Alan  obtained  pardon 
from  King  Henry  of  his  offence  in  having  killed  a  follower  of 
John  Byset  in  Ireland,  in  a  conflict  which  took  place  between 
him  and  John  BysetJ 

Walter  Byset  obtained,  in  December  1246,  a  grant  §  from 
Henry  III.  of  Lowdham,to  himself  and  his  heirs,  until  Walter 
or  his  heirs  should  recover  his  lands  in  Scotland.  The  adjoin- 

*  Fcedera,  vol.  i.  t  Bower,  Continuation  of  Fordun,  b.  ix.,  c.  62. 

$  Patent  Rolls,  36  Hen.  III.,  m.  12.  §  Chart.  31  Hen.  III.,  m.S^ 


46      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

ing  manor  of  East  Bridgeford  seems  at  this  time  to  have  been 
held  by  William  de  Grant,  who  had  married  Alfreda  Byset, 
one  of  the  heiresses  of  Henry  Byset.*  Walter  Byset  returned 
to  Scotland,  and  witnesses  a  grant  of  King  Alexander  II.  in 
I248,f  and  a  deed  by  Gregory  de  Melville  in  1251;!  in  1252 
he  died  in  the  island  of  Arran,§  leaving  Thomas,  his  nephew, 
his  heir,||  who  was,  in  1256,  a  knight,1F  and  may  have  been 
the  son  of  William  Byset. 

We  shall  see  that  practically  no  forfeiture  of  any  of  the 
Byset  estates  took  place — Aboyne  was  restored,  of  the  Aird 
and  Upsetlington  they  had  never  been  deprived,  and  though  the 
remarkable  family  group  of  Bysets  which  surrounded  Alexan- 
der II.  does  not  seem  to  have  reappeared,  yet  we  shall  see  that 
the  truth  lies  with  Mr  Chalmers,  in  his  "  Caledonia,"**  who  says 
that,  notwithstanding  the  check  occasioned  by  the  accusation 
against  John  and  Walter,  the  Bysets  still  continued  a  family 
of  importance. 


No.  IV. 

CARTA  LAURENTII  MILITIS,  FILIJ  PATRICIJ 
JANITORIS  DE  INNERNES  PRIORI  DE  BELLO  LOCO. 

Ex  AUTOGRAPHO  [1255]. 

"  Omnibus  has  litteras  visuris  vel  audituris  Laurentius  miles  filius 
Patricij  Janitoris  de  Innernes,  salutem.  Noveritis  me  quietum  clam- 
asse  de  me  et  heretibus  meis  in  perpetuum  pro  salute  animae  mese  et 
antecessorum  meorum  totvm  jus  quod  habui  vel  habere  potui  in  Bromi- 
halu,  et  in  Insula,  Deo  et  Beatae  Maria?  et  Sancto  Johanni  Baptista?  de 
Bello  loco,  et  Priori  et  Monachis  ibidem  Deo  servientibus  et  servituris. 

*  Thoroton's  Nottinghamshire. 

t  Chart.  Dunfermline,  p.  44.  J  /£.,  p.  93. 

§  The  Inquisition  says  Arran  in  Scotland,  but,  in  fact,  until  1266,  Arran 
belonged  to  the  King  of  Norway,  and  was  held  under  him,  in  1250,  by  Reginald, 
son  of  Somerled,  which  Reginald  then  called  himself  King  of  the  Isles. 

||  Coll.  Genealog.  Inq.  post  mort,  36  Hen.  III. 

IT  Reg.  Arb.,  p.  228.  **  Vol.  ii. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      47 

Ita  quod  de  csetero  nee  ego  nee  haeredes  mei  aliquod  jus  vel  clamium 
in  dictis  terris  vindicare  possimus.  In  cujus  rei  testimonium  huic 
scripto  Sigillum  meum  apposui  his  testibus,  Magistro  R.  de  Eginton 
Praecentore  Rossensi,  Domino  R.  Cancellario  Rossensi,  Domino 
Johanne  Vicario  de  Innernis,  Domino  Willielmo  Roher,  David  de 
Giulan,  Gilberto  Senescallo,  et  alijs.  Datum  apud  Rosmari  die  Jovis 
proxima  post  festum  Exaltationis  Sanctas  Crucis — Anno  Gratiae  mille- 
simo  ducentesimo  quinquagesimo  quinto." 

By  this  charter,  Laurentius,  knight,  son  of  Patrick,  the 
Porter  of  Inverness,  in  the  year  1255,  releases  all  right  he  had 
in  Bromihalu  and  the  island  to  God  and  the  Blessed  Mary, 
and  the  Blessed  John  Baptist  of  Beauly,  and  to  the  prior  and 
monks  serving  and  to  serve  God  there. 

Inverness  was  at  this  time  a  king's  castle,  and  the  Porter  of 
the  Castle,  the  Portman  or  Durward,  was  one  of  its  most  im- 
portant officials.  He  had  attached  to  his  office,  lands  and 
privileges  ;  and  it  was,  in  the  case  of  a  royal  castle,  an  heredi- 
tary office,  which  might  be  possessed  by  females.  The  porter- 
ship  of  the  castle  of  Montrose  was  hereditary. 

To  the  charter  of  John  Byset  to  the  Bishop  of  Ross,  1225, 
Patrick  the  porter  is  a  witness. 

What  Bromihalu  means  I  am  unable  to  say ;  but  the 
suggestion  of  the  editor  of  the  "  Origines  Parochiales  Scotiae," 
that  "  Insula  "  means  the  island  of  Aigas,  in  Strathglass,  is 
inadmissible.  Strathglass  and  Skye  were  given  to  Hugh, 
son  and  heir  of  William,  Earl  of  Ross,  by  King  Robert  Bruce.* 
Hugh  de  Ross  had  married  Mauld,  the  king's  sister,  between 
1308  and  1309,  and  succeeded  his  father,  William,  Earl  of 
Ross,  in  1323;  William  dying  at  Delny  that  year.  This 
Hugh,  Earl  of  Ross,  was  killed  at  Halidon  Hill  on  St  Mag- 
dalene's Day,  1333,  having  apparently  that  same  year  granted 
to  his  second  son,  Hugh  Ross,  the  lands  of  Philorth,  in  Aber- 
deenshire,  and  the  lands  of  Balnagoun,  in  Kilmuir,  Ross- 
shire.f  Between  1362  and  1372,  Hugh,  Lord  of  Philorth  and 
Balnagoun,  acquired,  by  exchange  for  lands  in  Buchan  with 

*  Rob.  Index,  p.  2,  Nos.  56,  60 ;  p.  16,  No.  7.     Reg.  Moray,  p.  342. 
t  O.  S.  P.  Ross,  vol.  ii.,  p.  461. 


48      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

his  brother  William,  Earl  of  Ross,  the  lands  of  Ergyle,  which 
means  of  North  Argyle  or  Wester  Ross  and  Strathglass,  with 
the  castle  of  Ellandonan.*  This  Hugh  of  Ross  died  without 
issue,  and  William,  Earl  of  Ross,  his  brother,  reacquired  his 
lands ;  on  William's  death,  Philorth  and  Strathglass  went 
with  his  second  daughter,  Johanna,  to  a  Eraser,  who  became 
Lord  of  Philorth.  When,  in  1423,  William  Forbes  of  Kinaldie 
married  Agnes,  daughter  of  Eraser  of  Philorth,  the  barony  of 
Pitsligo  was  granted  to  Agnes  and  her  heirs,  and  with  this 
was  granted  Strathglass.  In  1455  the  barony  of  Pitsligo 
included  Strathglass ;  of  Strathglass  Isobell  Wemyss,  Lady 
of  Pitsligo,  released  her  terce  to  her  son,  John  Forbes  of 
Pitsligo,  in  1524;  and  he,  in  1536,  sold  the  lands  of  Easter  and 
Wester  Aigas,  with  the  island  of  Aigas,  to  Hugh  Eraser, 
Lord  Lovat,  so  that  Aigas  was  never  a  part  of  the  possessions 
of  the  Priory  of  Beauly. 

The  Island  is  doubtless  that  island  of  Achinbady,  spoken 
of  by  the  writer  in  the  MS.  of  1728,  which  we  have  already 
quoted  as  stating  that  the  monastery  was  erected  in  the 
island  of  Achinbady.  There  is  not  now,  and  there  does  not 
seem  ever  to  have  been,  an  island,  in  the  modern  sense  of  the 
term,  at  Beauly.  But  the  word  island  is  often  in  early  times 
used  to  denote  what  we  now  call  a  peninsula — a  tract  of  land 
almost  surrounded  by  water ;  thus  the  Isle  of  Ely  and  Isle  of 
Thanet,  in  the  east  of  England,  are  not,  and  never  were, 
islands ;  nor  is  the  Black  Isle  in  Ross-shire — they  are  all  pen- 
insulas. The  fourth  side  of  these  islands,  which  fourth  side  is 
now  firm  land,  may  have  been  in  early  times  a  marsh,  thus 
giving  the  peninsula  in  effect  the  character  of  an  island. 

At  the  time  of  building  Beauly  Priory,  the  land  on  which  it 
stands  had  the  river  on  its  south  side,  two  small  streams  on 
the  east  and  west,  and  land  which  was  probably  bog  or  marsh 
on  the  north.  It  may  be  traced  by  a  careful  examination 
of  the  environs  of  the  Priory;  the  surrounding  water  made 
the  island  a  place  capable  of  being  easily  strengthened  against 
a  raid  of  the  neighbours.  The  castle  of  Lovat  was  built  in 
*  O.  S.  P.  Ross,  p.  391. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      49 

a  low  situation,  where  a  moat  could  easily  be  made ;  and 
in  selecting  this  island-spot  for  his  priory,  John  Byset  and 
his  advisers  followed  the  example  of  earlier  founders  of 
monasteries.  Westminster  Abbey — the  most  glorious  founda- 
tion in  England — was  placed  by  Edward  the  Confessor  on 
Thorney  Island,  a  peninsula  formed  by  small  streams  flowing 
into  the  Thames  and  marshes  communicating  with  that 
river. 

The  charter  of  Laurence  the  Knight  is  dated  at  Rosemarkie, 
and  is  witnessed,  first,  by  the  precentor  of  Ross,  and  next  by 
the  chancellor  of  Ross.  In  1255  the  Pope*  confirmed  the 
arrangement  of  the  Bishop  of  Ross,  by  which  all  the  tithes  of 
corn  of  the  parishes  of  Kennettes  and  Suddy  were  given  to 
the  precentor  or  chancellor  of  Ross  ;  but  at  the  dissolution -J- 
we  find  these  two  churches  belonging  to  the  chancellor,  and 
not  the  precentor  of  Ross.  No  gift  of  any  church  to  the 
chancellor  is  contained  in  the  same  Bull.  At  the  dissolution 
the  churches  of  Kilchrist  or  Tarradale  and  of  Kilmorack  be- 
longed to  the  precentor  of  Ross ;  and  I  suspect  that  before 
1255,  the  year  of  this  charter  and  Bull,  the  church  of  Kilmo- 
rack, within  which  parish  the  Priory  of  Beauly  stands,  had 
been  appropriated  to  the  chancellor,  and  was  exchanged  by 
him  with  the  precentor  of  Ross. 

The  vicar  of  Inverness  is  also  a  witness  to  the  charter  of 
Laurence.  The  vicarage  had  been  ordained  only  seven  years 
before.  William  the  Lion,  making  Inverness  a  royal  burgh, 
assumed  to  be  entitled  to  the  proprietorship  of  the  church ; 
and  about  1189  granted  it,,  with  its  chapels,  lands,  and  tithes 
to  the  monastery  of  St  Thomas  &  Becket,  at  Arbroath. 
Ratified  by  two  bishops  and  the  chapter  of  Moray  and  the 
Pope,J  the  liberty  given  to  Arbroath  to  appoint  chaplains  for 
Inverness  seems  not  to  have  been  exercised  so  as  fully  to 
provide  for  the  town;  and  in  I248§  a  vicar  was  appointed, 

*  Theiner.  Mon.  Hib.  et  Scot,  p.  69. 

t  House  of  Lords  Appeal  Cases,  vol.  x.,  p.  637  (1814). 

t  Registrum  de  Aberbrothock,  pp.  24,  140,  141. 

§  Ib.,  p.  190. 

D 


50      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

who  was  to  have  a  house  near  the  church  where  he  might 
fitly  entertain  the  bishop  and  the  abbot  of  Arbroath  when 
they  should  visit  Inverness,  and  this  vicar  was  to  cause  the 
church  of  Inverness  and  its  chapels  to  be  properly  served. 
The  endowment  was  small  for  so  considerable  a  charge,  but 
the  altarages  and  other  fees  received  at  the  chapels  for  the 
many  offices  of  the  pre-Reformation  Church  rendered  a  small 
endowment  sufficient  for  the  chaplains. 

Before  passing  to  the  next  charter,  we  had  better  refer 
to  a  transaction  in  1258  of  John  Byset,  son  of  the  founder 
— John  Byset  the  younger  of  1244.  He  appears  to  have  been 
remiss  in  providing  that  stone  of  wax  for  the  cathedral  of 
Elgin  which  his  father  had  originally  agreed  to  give  the 
cathedral  of  Ross,  and  which  had  been  handed  over,  somewhat 
without  reference  to  the  giver,  by  the  Bishop  of  Ross  to  the 
Bishop  of  Moray.  The  bishop  also  appears  to  have  claimed 
not  only  the  tithe  of  the  can  of  the  lands  of  the  Aird  held  by 
John  Byset — the  tithe  of  the  can  of  all  the  king's  lands  in 
Moray  having  been  granted  by  William  the  Lion  to  the 
church  of  the  bishop  in  1171-84 — but  also  the  can  itself.* 
The  bishop  also  claimed  a  davoch  of  the  church  land  of 
Conveth,  and  a  davoch  in  Ross,  called  Erchless,  which  John 
Byset  claimed  as  belonging  to  his  fee  of  the  Aird  by  hereditary 
right.  The  controversy  was  settled  by  the  bishop  surrender- 
ing his  claims,  which  seem  after  the  transactions  that  had 
taken  place  to  have  been  unfounded,  except  the  claim  to  the 
stone  of  wax ;  and  taking  in  lieu  of  them  a  rent  charge  of 
60  shillings,  or  three  pounds'  weight  of  silver,  payable  out  of 
the  lands  of  Wester  Moniack. 

It  would  seem  from  no  mention  being  made  of  the  connec- 
tion of  the  church  of  Conveth  with  the  Priory  of  Beauly  that 
it  had  not  yet  been  appropriated  to  the  priory.  We  shall  see 
hereafter  that  it  was  part  of  their  possessions,  and  it  is  pro- 
bable that  the  deed  of  arrangement  of  1258  was  made  to 
enable  John  Byset  the  younger  to  give  it  to  the  priory.  By 
1275  it  must  have  been  appropriated,  as  it  then  had  a  vicar,t 

*  Reg.  Moray,  pp.  133,  134.  t  Theiner.  Mon.  Hib.  et  Scot.,  p.  in. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      51 

the  tenth  of  whose  stipend  was  93.  46.,  so  that  between  these 
intervals  the  rectory  was  granted  to  some  religious  body,  and 
probably  to  Beauly  Priory,  whose  possession  it  afterwards  was. 
John  Byset  is  in  this  instrument  of  1258  no  longer  called 
the  younger  as  in  1244,  and  holds  his  property  by  descent  and 
not,  as  John  Byset  the  founder  did,  by  grant  from  the  Crown. 
John,  founder  of  Beauly,  had  died  in  Ireland,  leaving  Agatha, 
his  widow,  by  whom  he  seems  to  have  had  a  second  family, 
who  formed  the  clan  Eoin,  or  Bysets  of  the  Glens  of  Antrim. 

Among  the  witnesses  to  the  instrument  are  Dominus  Lau- 
rentius  et  Robertus  dicti  Grant ;  and  looking  at  the  fact  that 
William  le  Grant  not  long  before  had  the  Byset  manor  of 
East  Bridgeford  by  marriage  with  the  heiress,  and  that  this  is 
the  first  mention  of  the  name,  we  may  suppose  that  the 
Grants  were  brought  to  Scotland  from  England  by  John  and 
Walter  Byset  on  their  return  from  the  exile  of  1242.  Another 
witness  is  Robert  Byset,  probably  the  lord  of  Upsetlington. 

The  time  of  the  death  of  John  Byset  the  son,  is  accurately 
fixed  by  the  inquisition  of  a  jury  in  Ireland  in  6  Edward  I. 
(1278),  who  find  that  he  died  nineteen  years  before  that  date, 
or  in  1259,  and  that  he  had  before  his  death  given  dower  to 
the  Lady  Agatha,  his  stepmother,  and  left  three  daughters 
his  co-heiresses, — Cecilia,  the  wife  of  William  de  Fenton ; 
Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  Andrew  de  Boscho ;  and  Muriel,  the 
wife  of  David  de  Graham.  They  must  have  been  all  married 
before  1268.  Being  heiresses,  they  probably  married  young. 
Their  history  is  detailed  in  the  charters. 

In  the  Chamberlain  Accounts,  vol.  i.,  p.  31,  which  range 
from  1263  to  1266,  the  Chamberlain  accounts  for  four  merks 
as  the  tenth  of  the  Bishop  of  Moray  of  the  fine  imposed  on 
the  wife  of  John  Byset.  She  was  probably  widow  of  John 
Byset  the  younger. 

Among  the  records  of  Scotland  delivered  by  King  Edward  I. 
to  John  Baliol  in  1292  was  a  letter  of  William  de  Fenton, 
Andrew  de  Bosco,  and  David  de  Graham,  acknowledging  that 
they  had  received  from  William  Wyscard,  Archdeacon  of 
St  Andrews,  chancellor  of  the  king,  those  charters  which 


52      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

the  late  John  Byset  [filius*  h  .  .  militis  junioris]  had 
deposited  in  the  Abbey  of  Jedburgh.  As  William  Wyscard 
or  Wishart  ceased  to  be  Archdeacon  of  St  Andrews  in  1268/f 
this  transaction  must  have  taken  place  before  that  year.  The 
blank  here  preceding  the  words  "  militis  junioris,"  when  taken 
in  connection  with  the  epithet  John  Byset  the  younger,  in  the 
letter  of  confirmation  of  the  Treaty  of  Ponteland  in  1244, 
must  be  filled  by  the  words  "  John  Byset ;"  and  the  entry 
seems  to  establish  that  the  deeds  were  deposited  by  John 
Byset,  a  son  of  John  Byset  the  younger ;  that  on  his  death 
in  1259  John  Byset  the  younger  must  have  left  a  son  and 
three  daughters,  and  that  the  son  died  without  issue,  leaving 
the  daughters  co-heiresses  of  his  father  and  himself ;  so  that 
there  were  three  John  Bysets. 

If  Forsyth'sj  account  of  the  earliest  writ  to  the  family  of 
Grant  is  correct,  the  third  John  Byset  was  witness  to  this  writ, 
which  was  a  grant  to  Robert  le  Grant  about  1268  from  John 
Prat,  knight.  If  Chalmers  §  is  correct,  that  Gregory  le  Grant 
married  Mary,  daughter  of  Byset  of  Lovat,  she  must  have 
been  the  daughter  of  the  first  John  Byset,  founder  of  Beauly 
Priory. 

Gregory  le  Grant  was  sheriff  of  Inverness  in  1263,]!  and  the 
Grants  certainly  appear  about  1345  to  be  in  possession  of 
Stratherrick,  when  they  succeeded  the  Bysets ;  and  looking 
at  the  circumstances  of  their  introduction  into  the  North,  it  is 
probable  they  obtained  the  lands  of  Stratherrick  in  marriage 
with  a  Byset. 

*  Act.  Parl.  Scot.,  vol.  i.,  App.  18,  pref.,  p.  17.  There  is  no  h  now  in  the  ori- 
ginal which  is  zincographed  by  H.  M.  Treasury. 

t  Crawford's  Officers  of  State,  p.  15.      J  Forsyth's  Moray,  p.  20. 

§  Caledonia,  vol.  I,  p.  596.  ||  Chamberlain  Accounts,  vol.  i.,  p.  21. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      53 


No.  V. 

CARTA  MAGISTRI  HENRICI  DE  TOTTYNGHAM  PRIORI 
DE  BELLO  LOCO. 

Ex    AUTOGRAPHO     1274. 

Magister  Henricus  de  Tottyngham  erat  Rector  Eccksia  de  Taruodal. 

"  Sciant  praesentes  et  futuri  hoc  scriptum  visuri  vel  audituri,  quod 
cum  mota  esset  controversia  inter  Priorem  et  Conventum  Monasterii 
de  Bello  loco  ex  una  parte,  et  Magistrum  Henricum  de  Tottyngham 
Rectorem  Ecclesiae  de  Taruedal  ex  altera,  sub  omnibus  querelis, 
petitionibus,  controversijs,  injurijs,  et  dampnis  inter  eos  datis  et 
habitis;  tandem  de  consensu  partium  concorditer  compromiserunt 
in  venerabilem  virum  Archibaldum  Archidiaconum  Moraviensem 
Dei  gratia  tune  electum  Kattanensem  et  Magistrum  Radulphum 
dictum  Reny  Subdecanum  Moraviensem,  et  Magistrum  Thomam  de 
Boch  Canonicum  ejusdem  Ecclesiae  et  fideliter  consenserunt  in  eosdem 
fide  data,  in  manibus  praedicti  Domini  tune  electi,  quod  dictorum 
compromissariorum  arbitrio  starent  de  praemissis  omnibus  et  singulis 
sub  poena  centum  Marcarum  solvendarum  parti  nolenti  a  praedictorum 
arbitrio  resilire.  Ad  quam  poenam  si  fuerint,  quod  absit,  commissa, 
solvendam  obligaverunt  seipsos  hinc  inde,  et  omnia  bona  sua,  mun- 
dana  et  Ecclesiastica,  mobilia  et  immobilia,  subjicientes  se  jurisdic- 
tion! Domini  Archibald!  Archidiaconi  Moraviensis  Dei  gratia  tune 
electi  Kattanensis,  quo  de  piano  et  sine  strepitu  judiciali  per  senten- 
tiam  excommunicationis  posset  partem  volentem  resilire  a  praedicto 
arbitrio,  compellere,  sicut  praedictum  est,  ad  paenam  supradictam 
solvendam.  Renunciaverunt  in  super  hinc  inde  litibus,  processibus 
habitis  et  habendis,  appellationibus  interpositis  et  interponendis, 
coram  quibuscunque  Judicibus,  nee  non  et  litteris  impetratis  et  im- 
petrandis,  super  praemissis  omnibus  et  singulis  ab  ordinario,  seu 
delegatis  Judicibus,  seu  ad  ordinaries  vel  delegates  Judices.  Renun- 
ciaverunt et  privilegio  cruce  signatorum,  et  regiae  prohibitioni  et  con- 
stitutioni  de  duabus  dietis,  et  omni  Juris  remedio  tarn  Civilis  quam 
Canonici.  Tandem  partibus  praesentibus  die  Jovis  infra  octav. 
Epiphaniae  anno  gratise  Millesimo  ducentesimo  septuagesimo  quarto 


54     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

in  Ecclesia  Cathedral!  de  Elgyn,  habito  prudentium  virorum  consilio, 
quorum  nomina  inferius  sunt  expressa,  dicti  Arbitri  in  hunc  modum 
sunt  Arbitrati,  viz.,  quod  partes  prsenominatae,  omnibus  querelis, 
petitionibus,  contraversiis,  injurijs  et  dampnis  omnibus  et  singulis 
renunciaverunt  et  dicti  Prior  et  Conventus  haberent  libere  omnes 
decimas  totius  terrae  suse  pertinentes  ad  ecclesiam  de  Taruedal,  usque 
ad  terminum  octo  annorum  plenarie  completorum  :  termino  incipient! 
ad  Pentecosten  anno  gratise  milesimo  ducentesimo  septuagesimo 
quinto :  Et  quod  dicti  Prior  et  Conventus  recipiant  annuatim  suis 
proprijs  costis  et  expensis  infra  dictos  octo  annos,  in  quolibet  anno, 
per  dimidium  annum  dictum  Magistrum  Henricum  cum  duobus  equis 
et  duobus  garcionibus,  et  quod  dictus  Magister  Henricus  fidele 
patrocinium  cum  expensis  eorundem  prsestaret  et  similiter  serviet 
fitleliter  eisdem  Priori  et  conventui  quotiescunque  servitio  ipsius 
indiguerint,  usque  ad  terminum  octo  annorum  plenarie  completorum. 
In  cujus  rei  firmum  testimonium  huic  scripto  sigilla  dic.torum  arbitro- 
rum  sunt  apposita  hijs  testibus  Domino  Willielmo  Decano  Mora- 
viensi,  Domino  Waltero  Sureys  Officiali  Moraviensi,  Domino  Roberto 
vicario  de  Duffhus,  Domino  Willielmo  Priore  de  Pluscardyn,  et 
Domino  Roberto  de  Bosyll  commonacho  suo  et  multis  alijs." 

Not. — There  are  three  Tags  appended  to  the  charter ;  to  the 
middle  one  only  is  affixed  a  seal. 

This  charter  explains  and  illustrates  the  note  already  printed 
from  the  transcript  of  the  Wardlaw  MS. 

The  MS.  stated  that  in  1235  Gillichrist  a  Rosse  gave  and 
confirmed  the  Half  Davoch  Lands  of  Tarradale  to  the  monks 
of  Beauly.  The  monks  retained  the  lands  of  Tarradale,  at 
least  that  portion  which  is  now  called  Kilchrist,  to  the  dis- 
solution ;  this  was  in  the  parish  of  Tarradale,  of  which  there 
seems  to  have  been  a  chaplain  rector  in  1240.* 

It  appears  that  a  controversy  had  arisen  between  the  Prior 
of  Beauly  and  Master  Henry  of  Tottingham  or  Nottingham, 
rector  of  the  church  of  Tarradale,  respecting  the  lands  of  the 
priory  in  Tarradale,  which,  by  the  judgment  of  Archibald, 
Archdeacon  of  Moray,  and  then  bishop  elect  of  Caithness,  and 
others,  was  settled  in  the  cathedral  church  of  Elgin  on  Thurs- 

*  Reg.  Moray,  p.  275. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      55 

day  within  the  octave  of  the  Feast  of  the  Epiphany  1274,  as 
follows :  that  the  prior  and  convent  should  have  free  of  rent 
the  tithes  which  belonged  to  the  church  of  Tarradale,  and 
which  arose  from  their  lands,  and  this  for  eight  years  from 
Whitsunday  1275  ;  that  during  that  time  the  prior  would 
entertain  at  his  own  cost  the  said  Master  Henry,  with  two 
horses  and  two  grooms,  for  the  half  of  each  year ;  and  that 
during  the  same  period  Master  Henry  should  protect  and 
faithfully  serve  the  prior  and  convent  as  often  as  required. 

I  suspect  the  name  was  Nottingham,  and  that  this  Henry 
was  the  Henry  de  Nottingham  who  was  a  canon  of  Caith- 
ness in  1272.*  If  so,  he  was  bound  to  reside  at  Dornoch  for 
three  months  in  the  year  at  least  by  the  constitution  of  that 
cathedral  ;f  he  was  also,  by  the  ordinary  law,  obliged  to  reside 
six  months  in  his  parish.  Probably  there  was  no  house  of 
residence  at  Tarradale,  so  that  his  six  months'  residence  on 
his  living  was  arranged  by  his  residing  within  the  limits  of  the 
priory,  by  this  time  a  commodious  edifice. 

The  charter  is  witnessed  by  Dominus  William,  Dean  of 
Moray  ;  Dominus  Walter  Sureys,  the  official  of  Moray;  Dom- 
inus Robert,  vicar  of  Duffus;  Dominus  William,  Prior  of  Plus- 
cardine  ;  and  Robert  of  Bosyll,  fellow  monk. 

Magister  [Master]  signifies  that  the  ecclesiastic  who  bore 
this  prefix  was  a  Master  of  Arts  of  a  university ;  Dominus 
was  used  to  signify  an  ecclesiastic  who  was  either  not  a 
graduate,  or  only  a  Bachelor  of  Arts,  and  it  was  afterwards 
commonly  translated  into  Sir.  J  Sir  Hugh  Evans,  in  Shake- 
speare's "  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,"  was  a  priest.  The  host 
says,  "  Shall  I  lose  my  parson — my  priest — my  Sir  Hugh  ? " 

The  release  entered  into  is  from  all  claims,  suits,  actions,  and 
appeals ;  and  renounces  for  each  party,  among  other  things, 
the  privilege  of  crusaders — "  cruce  signatorum" — who  were 
allowed  special  exemptions  from  prosecutions  and  suits.  § 

*  Liber  Eccles.  de  Scon.,  p.  85.  +  O.  S.  P.  Dornoch,  p.  602. 

J  Fuller's  Church  History;  Nash,  Worcestershire,  vol.  ii.,  p.  23  (N.);  Kennett's 
Parochial  Antiquities,  p.  684. 

§  See  Robertson's  History  of  Charles  V.,  note  xiii. 


56      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

The  rector  of  Tarradale  was  entitled  to  tithes  from  the 
Priory  lands,  for  there  is  no  privilege  of  exemption  from 
tithes  mentioned  in  the  Bull  of  the  Pope  to  Beauly.  Even  if 
the  Valliscaulian  order  were  entitled  to  the  privileges  of  the 
Cistercian  order  as  to  tithes,  without  the  exemption  being 
mentioned  in  the  Pope's  Bull,  the  Priory  of  Beauly  would  not 
be  free.  The  Cistercian  order  was  exempted  from  paying 
tithes  of  lands  which  were  cultivated  by  the  hands  of  the 
monks,  or  at  their  expense.*  But  by  the  Lateran  Council,  at 
which  William  Malvoisin  assisted,  in  1215,  it  was  provided 
the  exemption  should  extend  only  to  the  lands  then  in  pos- 
session of  the  order.  Of  course,  as  the  Beauly  lands  were 
acquired,  and  the  priory  founded,  after  1215,  the  ordinary 
exemption  could  not  apply.  It  would  not,  however,  be  neces- 
sary to  mention  an  exemption  for  lands  called  novalia,  those 
which  should,  after  they  had  been  acquired  by  the  monks,  be 
brought  into  cultivation  by  the  monks,  and  cultivated  by 
them,  and  at  their  expense. 


No.  VI. 

CARTA  DAVID  DE  INNERLUNAN  DE  TERRA  DE  AUCH- 
TERWADDALLE  SEU  ONACHTERWADALE  EX  DONO 
GILLECHRIST  MACGILLEDUFFI  FRATRIBUS  DE 
BELLO  LOCO. 

Ex  AUTOGRAPHO  [c.   1275]. 

"  Omnibus  hoc  scriptum  visuris  vel  audituris  David  de  Innerlunan 
aeternam  in  Domino  Salutem.  Sciant  prsesentes  et  futuri  me  ex  con- 
sensu  et  voluntate  Gillicrist  Macgilliduffi  concessisse  et  quietum 
clamasse  Deo  et  Beatae  Marias  et  B.  Johanni  Baptistse  et  Fratribus 
Belli  loci  ordinis  Vallis  Caulium  ibidem  Deo  servientibus  et  in 
perpetuum  servituris,  totam  terram  meam  de  Ouchterwaddale  quae 
est  dimidia  Davata  terrae,  quam  scilicet  terram  habui  et  tenui  ad 
Feodifirmam  de  praedicto  Gillicrist.  Tenendam  et  habendam  dictis 

*  Connell  on  Tithes,  vol.  ii.,  p.  333. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      57 

fratribus  et  eorum  successoribus  cum  omnibus  pertinentijs  et  aysia- 
mentis  ad  dictam  terram  spectantibus.  Quare  volo  et  concede  et 
quietum  clamo  dictam  terram  de  Onachterwaddale  de  me  et  haere- 
dibus  meis  dictis  fratribus  et  eorum  successoribus  ut  ipsi  dictam 
terram  habeant  teneant  et  pacifice  possideant  adeo  libere  quiete, 
plenarie  et  honorifice  sicut  illam  terram  habent  ex  dono  prsedicti 
Gillicrist,  prout  Carta  ejusdem  eis  inde  confecta  plenius  testatur. 
Volo  insuper  et  concedo,  quod  si  aliqua  Scripta  vel  instrumenta  de 
prsedicta  terra  de  Onachteruedalle  confecta  a  me,  vel  quocunque 
haeredum  meorum  sive  assignatorum  aliquo  tempore  fuerint  reperta, 
quse  prsedictae  quietse  Clamationi  mese  in  aliquo  poterint  eludere,  vel 
praedictis  fratribus  in  praedicta  terra  in  aliquo  nocere,  irrita  sint  et 
quassata,  mihi  et  hseredibus  meis  sive  assignatis  nullo  tempore 
valitura:  Et  ut  haec  mea  Concessio  et  quieta  clamatio  rata  sit  et 
stabilis,  praesenti  scripto,  una  cum  sigillo  meo  non  satis  cognito, 
appensum  est  sigillum  nobilis  viri  Domini  Walteri  de  Moravia, 
Testibus  Domino  Andrea  de  Moravia,  Willielmo  Comite  Sutirland, 
Alano  fratre  dicti  Domini  Andreas,  Isaac  Macgillendres,  Johanne 
filio  Cristini,  Duncano  DufF,  Bochly  Beg,  et  alijs." 

It  is  not  improbable  that  the  good  offices  of  Henry  de 
Nottingham  procured  for  the  monks  this  charter.  It  is  by 
David  de  Innerlunan,  who,  because  his  seal  is  not  sufficiently 
known,  uses  the  seal  of  Walter  de  Moray.  Andrew  de  Moray, 
William,  Earl  of  Sutherland,  and  Alan,  the  brother  of  the  said 
Andrew  de  Moray,  are  witnesses. 

William,  Earl  of  Sutherland,  in  1275,  by  the  advice  of  cer- 
tain prelates  and  noblemen,  grants  *  to  Archibald,  Bishop  of 
Caithness  (the  bishop-elect  of  the  last  charter),  the  Castle  of 
Skibo ;  and  to  this  grant  the  seals  of  the  earl,  William  de 
Monte  Alto,  Sir  Andrew  of  Moray,  Sir  Alexander  of  Moray, 
and  Sir  David  of  Innerlunan,  were  appended.  Innerlunan 
was  a  barony  in  the  sheriffdom  of  Forfar.  The  witnesses 
seem  to  fix  the  date  of  the  one  charter  of  David  de  Inner- 
lunan at  the  same  period  as  this  charter  of  William,  Earl  of 
Sutherland,  William  de  Monte  Alto,  Andrew  de  Moray,  and 
David  de  Innerlunan,  being  parties  to  both  deeds.  David 

*  Bannatyne  Miscellany,  vol.  iii.,  p.  24. 


58      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

de  Innerlunan,  by  this  charter,  declares  that  by  the  consent 
and  will  of  Gillicrist  Macgilliduffi,  he  granted  and  confirmed 
to  God  and  the  Blessed  Mary  and  the  Blessed  John  Baptist, 
and  the  brethren  of  Beauly  of  the  Valliscaulian  order,  then 
serving  and  for  ever  to  serve  God  there,  all  his  land  of 
Ouchter-Tarradale,  which  is  a  half  davoch  of  land  which  he 
holds  at  fee-farm  of  the  said  Gillicrist,  and  which  they  are 
to  hold,  as  they  have  that  land  from  the  gift  of  the  said 
Gillicrist,  as  by  Gillicrist's  charter  made  to  them  thereon  is 
more  fully  testified ;  and  David  declares  that  if  any  charter 
should  be  found  by  him  or  his  heirs  contrary  to  this  quit- 
claim, it  should  be  void  and  of  none  effect. 

Who  was  this  Gillicrist  ?  Although  the  grant  is  said  to  be 
by  his  consent,  this  expression  is  explained  afterwards,  I  think, 
by  reference  to  the  charter  of  Gillicrist.  That  charter  may 
be  the  one  referred  to  by  the  Wardlaw  MS.,  as  granted  of 
the  Half  Davoch  Lands  of  Tarradale  by  Gillicrist  a  Rosse  in 
1235  ;  but  whether  the  name  or  date  is  accurate  as  given  by 
the  Wardlaw  MS.  is  doubtful. 

David  de  Innerlunan  was,  as  we  have  said,  of  Lunan  or 
Innerlunan  in  Forfar,  and  held  his  barony  there  of  the  earl- 
dom of  Angus.  Gilchrist,  the  son  of  Gillibride,  was  Earl  of 
Angus  in  1207.*  This  small  outlying  portion  of  land  in 
Tarradale,  on  the  break  up  of  the  old  holders  of  Ross-shire 
lands  by  William  the  Lion,  may  have  been  granted  to  the 
Earls  of  Angus,  and  feued  out  by  them  with  the  lands  of 
Innerlunan,  to  David  de  Innerlunan ;  and  the  Gilchrist  Mac- 
gilliduffi of  this  charter  belonged  perhaps  to  the  Angus  family. 
William,  the  Prior  of  Pluscardine,  is  a  witness  to  Henry  of 
Nottingham's  charter  of  1274. 

As  everything  is  of  interest  to  the  history  of  Beauly  Priory 
which  bears  upon  the  histories  of  the  sister  Priories  of  Plus- 
cardine and  Ardchattan — priories  of  the  same  order,  and 
founded  in  the  same  year  as  Beauly — I  shall  ask  my  readers 
to  go  back  and  trace  the  story  of  the  House  of  Pluscardine 
from  its  foundation  down  to  an  instrumentf  executed  by 

*  Lib.  de  Aberbrothock,  p.  33.  t  Family  of  Kilravock,  p.  171. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      59 

Robert,  the  prior,  and  Adam  Forman,  of  Pluscardine,  the 
subprior,  who  are  witnesses  to  the  monition  of  the  Bishop  of 
Moray  in  favour  of  the  Prior  of  Beauly,  dated  the  1 1  th  Feb- 
ruary 1501. 

There  are  few  monastic  remains  in  Scotland  which  those 
interested  in  the  history  of  the  past  can  visit  with  so  much 
satisfaction  as  Pluscardine  Priory.  There  are  none  where 
more  care  is  taken  to  protect  the  buildings  from  sordid  rapa- 
city or  wanton  injury — to  allow  nature  to  hide  the  progress  of 
"  calm  decay"  by  the  veil  of  evergreen  climbers  she  so  boun- 
tifully spreads  over  aged  ruins — and  to  prevent  the  biting  rain 
and  shivering  frost  from  throwing  down  the  stately  walls, 
which  still  attest  the  pious  liberality  of  the  young  pupil  of 
Malvoisin,  Alexander  II. 

In  the  secluded  vale  of  Pluscardine,  in  the  parish,  but  at 
some  distance  from  the  city  of  Elgin,  the  king  placed  his 
foundation  for  the  Valliscaulian  brethren  in  1230.  Elgin  was 
often  visited  and  much  favoured  by  the  sovereign ;  and  after 
the  final  defeat  of  the  rebel  Moraymen  in  1229,  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  new  sheriffdoms  of  Elgin  and  Nairn,  all  that 
was  wanted  to  secure  the  civilisation  of  the  district  was  the 
encouragement  of  agricultural  improvement,  and  this  the  king 
effected  by  planting  there  abbeys  and  priories,  those  bodies  of 
devoted  men,  who  drained  the  morass,  planted  the  hill,  and 
cultivated  the  valley. 

It  is  said  that  the  king  not  only  founded  this  priory  in  the 
parish  of  Elgin  in  1230,  but  also  founded  that  monastery  of 
Dominicans  or  Preaching  Friars  there,  in  1233,  whose  prior  is 
also  a  witness  to  the  bishop's  monition.  A  House  of  Grey 
Friars,  or  Franciscans,  at  Elgin,  is  said  to  have  been  endowed 
by  him  in  the  same  year. 

The  king  named  the  Pluscardine  Priory  after  St  Andrew, 
the  tutelar  saint  of  Scotland,  and  called  the  Vale  of  Pluscar- 
dine the  Vale  of  St  Andrew ;  the  whole  valley,  about  three 
miles  long,  of  extreme  fertility,  he  granted  to  them,  and  also 
bestowed  on  them  the  corn  milns  of  Elgin. 

The  first  extant  charter  of  the  king  is  dated  /th  April  1236. 


60      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

A  facsimile  has  been  photo-zincographed  by  the  Treasury  as 
one  of  the  national  MSS.  of  Scotland.* 

As  there  is  not  among  the  Beauly  transcripts  any  copy  of 
the  charter  of  confirmation  of  John  Byset's  grant  by  King 
Alexander  II.,  it  will  be  useful  to  give  the  translation  of  this 
charter  to  Pluscardine,  the  work  in  which  it  is  found  being 
expensive,  and  seldom  seen  in  private  libraries. 

"  Alexander,  by  the  grace  of  God  King  of  the  Scots,  to  all  the  men 
of  all  his  land,  clergy,  and  laity,  greeting.  Let  those  present  and  to 
come  know  that  we,  for  the  love  of  God,  and  for  the  weal  of  our  soul 
and  of  the  souls  of  our  ancestors  and  successors,  have  given  and 
granted,  and  by  this  our  charter  have  confirmed,  to  God  and  the 
Blessed  Mary,  and  to  the  Blessed  Apostle  Andrew,  and  to  the 
Brethren  of  the  Order  of  Valliscaulium  serving  and  to  serve  God  in 
the  house  that  we  have  founded  in  our  forest  of  Elgin,  in  the  place 
to  wit  that  is  called  the  Vale  of  Saint  Andrew  at  Pluscardin,  in  ex- 
change for  the  forest  of  Lanach,  which  we  formerly  gave  to  the  same 
brethren,  twenty  nets  upon  Inverspe  in  free,  pure,  and  perpetual 
alms. 

"  Moreover,  we  give  and  grant,  and  by  this  our  charter  confirm,  to 
the  same  brethren,  our  mill  of  Elgin,  with  all  the  other  mills  belong- 
ing to  that  mill,  and  our  mills  formerly  belonging  to  our  castle  of 
Foreys,t  and  our  mill  of  Dulpothin,  in  the  bailliary  of  Foreys,  so  that 

*  Facsimiles  of  National  MSS.  of  Scotland,  part  i.,  No.  xlviii. 

t  It  appears  from  Stevenson's  Documents  relating  to  Scotland,  published  under 
the  direction  of  the  Master  of  the  Rolls,  that  in  1291-92,  notwithstanding  all  the 
traditions  about  castles  in  the  north,  the  only  castles  into  which  garrisons  were 
placed  by  Edward  I.  north  of  the  Spey,  were  the  castles  of  Elgin,  Forres, 
Nairn  or  Invernairn,  Inverness,  Dingwall,  and  Cromarty.  These  were  the  only 
strong  places  of  sufficient  importance  for  Edward  to  keep  in  his  own  hands. 
Under  the  protection  of  each  of  these  castles,  there  were,  by  the  time  of  Alexander 
III.,  the  following  municipalities:  The  Provost  and  Burgesses  of  Dingwall, 
the  Burgesses  of  Inverness,  the  Burgesses  of  Elgin,  the  Burgesses  of  Forres,  the 
Burgesses  of  Cromarty,  and  the  Burgesses  of  Invernairn.  The  first  charter  extant 
to  any  of  these  is  that  of  William  the  Lion  to  Inverness. %  The  next  is  the  charter 
of  Alexander  II.  to  Dingwall,  dated  6th  February  1227.  This  gives  to  Dingwall 
"  omnes  libertates  et  liberas  consuetudines  quas  burgenses  nostri  de  Inverness  et 

J  This  and  three  other  charters  of  the  same  king  are  set  out  in  a  charter  of  King 
James  III.,  dated  l6th  August  1467,  and  printed  in  Bell's  Treatise  on  Scotch 
Election  Law,  Edin.  1812,  A  pp.  xxxv. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      61 

the  aforesaid  brethren  may  have  and  hold  and  possess  all  the  afore- 
said mills  in  free,  pure,  and  perpetual  alms,  with  all  the  multure  pay- 
able from  all  the  lands  from  which  at  the  time  of  this  grant  we  drew 
multure,  or  ought  to  have  drawn  it  if  it  had  been  tilled,  with  their 
waters  and  stanks.  We  will  moreover  and  grant  that  the  aforesaid 
brethren  and  their  millers  take  earth,  stones,  and  timber  for  making 
the  stanks  of  the  aforesaid  mill,  and  for  repairing  and  preserving 
them  without  any  contradiction  or  hindrance,  in  neighbouring  con- 
venient and  suitable  places.  We  give  also  and  grant,  and  by  this 
our  charter  confirm,  to  the  aforesaid  brethren,  in  exchange  for  twenty- 
four  nets  that  the  monks  and  the  said  brethren  had  by  our  gift  on  the 
water  of  Findorin  for  twenty-four  pounds,  these  lands  underwritten 
by  the  eight  marches,  and  with  their  just  appurtenances,  to  wit,  Fer- 
navan,  Thulidoui,  Kep,  Meikle  Kyntessoch,  to  be  held  and  had  by 
them  in  free,  pure,  and  perpetual  alms ;  in  wood  and  plain,  in 
meadows  and  pastures,  in  moors  and  marshes,  in  ponds,  mills,  waters, 
and  fishings  belonging  to  the  said  lands,  free  and  quit  from  every 
exaction,  and  service,  and  demand,  and  custom,  with  all  suits  and 
pleas  in  all  the  foresaid  possessions  chancing  in  their  court,  which 
we  give  to  them  to  be  litigated  and  determined,  excepting  those  that 
specially  belong  to  our  crown. 

"We  will,  moreover,  and  grant  that  they,  in  respect  of  all  their  proper 
chattels,  be  free  and  quit  over  all  our  kingdom  from  all  toll  and 
custom.  And  all  the  aforesaid  things  that  they  have  at  present,  and 
that  they  may  in  future  times  acquire  by  just  means  in  our  kingdom, 
we  will  and  grant  that  they  have,  hold,  and  possess  in  free,  pure,  and 
perpetual  alms,  according  to  the  tenor  and  form  of  the  gifts  made 
to  them  or  to  be  made,  as  freely,  quietly,  fully,  and  honourably  as 
any  alms  in  our  kingdom  are  most  freely,  quietly,  fully,  and  honour- 
in  eo  manentes  habent."*  The  earliest  extant  charter  in  favour  of  Elgin  recog- 
nises the  existing  burgh,  which  is  mentioned  as  a  burgh  in  King  David's  charter  to 
Urquhart  in  1125,  and  gives  to  the  burgesses  a  merchant  guild.  It  is  dated  at 
Elgin  28th  November  1234,  and  has  William  Byset  among  the  witnesses,  t  The 
earliest  mention  I  have  found  of  the  burghs  of  Torres,  Cromarty,  and  Invernairn 
is  the  insertion  among  the  letters  addressed  to  the  King  and  Queen  of  Scotland 
probably  King  Alexander  III.  and  Queen  Margaret,  by  Scottish  municipalities, 
of  letters  from  the  burgesses  of  Forres,  Cromarty,  and  Invernairn.  J 

*  Stat.  Acct.  Ross-shire,  Dingwall,  1837,  p.  219. 

t  Printed  Shaw's  History  of  Moray,  Edin.  1775,  p.  193. 

J  National  MSS.  of  Scotland,  part  i.,  Ixxiv. 


62      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

ably  had,  held,  and  possessed  by  any  religious  men.  And  we  have 
taken  the  aforesaid  brethren  and  their  house,  all  their  men,  and  all 
the  possessions  and  goods  of  them  and  their  men  into  our  firm  peace 
and  protection;  and  we  firmly  forbid  that  any  one  inflict  any  injury, 
trouble,  or  grievance  upon  them,  or  upon  any  one  of  them  unjustly, 
upon  pain  of  our  full  forfeiture ;  and  that  any  one  presume  to  take 
poind  of  them  or  of  their  men  for  any  debt  unless  for  their  proper 
debt  that  they  or  their  men  may  owe,  upon  pain  of  our  full  forfeiture. 
But  if  any  one  shall  have  rashly  presumed  to  go  against  what  is 
aforesaid  in  anything,  let  the  diocesan  in  whose  diocese  this  has 
been  done,  justly  compel,  by  ecclesiastical  censure,  him  who  has 
done  the  injury  to  give  satisfaction  to  the  aforesaid  monks ;  and  if, 
on  account  of  his  contumacy,  he  has  been  tied  with  the  sentence  of 
excommunication,  and  obstinately  resisting  has  scorned  to  obey  the 
mandates  of  the  Church,  and  has  remained  during  forty  days  under 
sentence  of  excommunication,  let  the  bailie  of  us  and  of  our  heirs,  in 
whose  bailliary  that  excommunicated  person  may  be,  seize  him  and 
thrust  him  into  our  prison ;  which,  if  that  bailie  shall  have  neglected 
to  do  after  being  required  three  times,  the  sentence  of  excommunica- 
tion shall  be  enforced  by  the  course  of  justice.  We  will,  moreover, 
and  grant  that  as  often  as  injury  has  been  done  to  the  aforesaid 
brethren  or  to  their  men  in  respect  of  their  lands,  mills,  or  the  marches 
of  their  lands,  their  possessions  or  other  things,  the  bailies  of  us  and 
of  our  heirs,  when  required  by  them,  without  waiting  for  a  special 
royal  mandate,  do  them  full  and  swift  justice  according  to  the  assize 
and  customs  of  our  kingdom.  We  charge,  moreover,  that  no  one 
presume  to  detain  unjustly  their  serfs  and  those  of  their  lands  if  found 
outwith  our  domains,  upon  pain  of  our  full  forfeiture.  Witnesses — 
William,  Bishop  of  Glasgow  our  Chancellor;  Andrew,  Bishop  of  Moray; 
William,  Abbot  of  Dunfermline ;  Herbert,  Abbot  of  Kelchoch  ;  Ralf, 
Abbot  of  Aberbrothock ;  Gilbert,  Abbot  of  Holy  Rood;  Patrick, 
Earl  of  Dunbar;  Malcolm,  Earl  of  Fife;  Walter  Cumin,  Earl  of 
Menteith ;  Roger  of  Quinci,  our  Constable ;  Walter,  the  son  of  Alan, 
our  Steward,  and  Justiciar  of  Scotland ;  Walter  Olifand,  Justiciar  of 
Lothian;  Ingram  of  Balliol ;  Roger  Avenel;  Walter  Biseth;  Thomas, 
the  son  of  Ranulf;  Archibald  of  Dufglas;  David,  the  Marischal. 
At  Edinburgh,  on  the  7th  day  of  April,  in  the  22d  year  of  trie  reign 
of  our  Lord  the  King." 

The  king  had  been  careful,  in  his  grant  to  the  Valliscaulians, 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.      63 

to  remember  their  rules,  and  to  give  them  incomes  without 
labour ;  as  at  Beauly,  so  at  Pluscardine,  much  of  the  revenues 
are  derived  from  mills  and  salmon-fishings.  "  One  grant," 
says  Mr  Innes,  "  of  twenty  nets  fishing  at  Inverspey  may  have 
comprehended  the  whole  fishing  of  the  great  river  from  the 
ancient  bridge  downwards."*  The  maintenance  of  the  ancient 
bridge,  we  may  remark,  was  secured  by  the  wise  king  in 
1228  granting  property  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  it  in  repair. 
The  bishop's  charter  confirming  this  in  1237  releases  the 
tithes  of  the  same  land  to  the  monks.  We  print  the  charter 
from  the  Treasury  translation  : 

"  To  all  the  sons  of  Holy  Mother  Church  that  shall  see  or  hear 
these  letters,  Andrew,  by  divine  permission  Bishop  of  Moray,  ever- 
lasting health  in  the  Lord, — Be  it  known  unto  you  all  that  when  our 
Lord  Alexander,  the  illustrious  King  of  the  Scots,  had  bestowed,  in 
pure  and  perpetual  alms,  for  the  support  of  the  House  of  the  Vale  of 
St  Andrew,  of  the  order  of  Valliscaulium,  which  he  founded  in  Plus- 
cardin,  and  for  the  support  of  the  brothers  there  serving,  and  for 
ever  to  serve  God,  the  mill  of  Elgin,  with  all  the  mills  and  other 
things  belonging  to  it;  also  the  mills  of  Foreys  and  of  Dulpotin, 
with  all  the  mills  and  other  things  belonging  to  these  mills,  from 
which  the  churches  of  Elgin,  and  of  Foreys,  and  of  Dye  [Dyke]  were 
wont  to  draw  tithes  ;t  at  the  instance  of  our  same  Lord  the  King  we 
quit-claimed  to  the  aforesaid  house,  and  to  the  aforesaid  brethren, 
with  the  counsel  and  consent  of  our  chapter  and  of  the  rector  of  the 
church  of  Foreys,  |  to  wit,  the  Archdeacon  of  Moray,§  all  the  tithes 
of  the  aforesaid  mills  and  others,  if  any  happen  to  have  been  made 
within  the  soke  of  the  aforesaid  mills  which  the  aforesaid  mills  had 
at  the  time  of  the  making  of  this  writing,  except  the  tithes  from  the 
profits  of  the  millers  holding  the  aforesaid  mills.  We  have  quit- 

*  Facsimiles  of  National  MSS.  of  Scotland,  Introduction,  p.  xi. 

t  It  would  seem  that  these  churches  had  the  tithes  of  mills,  which  are  generally 
vicarial  tithes. 

£  William  the  Lion  gave  the  churches  of  Forres  and  Dyke  to  Richard,  Bishop  of 
Moray,  who  had  been  his  chaplain. 

§  Bishop  Bricius  of  Moray  erected  Forres  and  Logyn-Fythenach  into  a  canonry, 
and  gave  it  to  the  Archdeacon  of  Moray.  This  Logic  is  the  Logic  near  Dum- 
phail,  and  called  Logic  Fythenach,  or  the  Woody  Logic,  to  distinguish  it  from 
the  other  Logic. 


64      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

claimed,  moreover,  to  the  same  house  and  to  the  same  brethren,  at 
the  instance  of  our  same  Lord  the  King,  all  the  tithes  that  were  wont 
to  be  paid  to  us,  and  that  ought  to  be  paid  to  the  Bishops  of  Moray 
for  ever,  from  the  rents*  arising,  and  that  shall  arise,  from  the  lands 
of  Fernauan,t  Tuliduui,  Kep,  Meikle  Kintessoc,J  reserving  to  the 
mother  churches  in  whose  parishes  the  aforesaid  lands  are  the  other 
tithes  pertaining  to  them.  And  our  Lord  the  King  aforesaid,  by 
bestowing  greater  gifts,  has  of  his  grace  benevolently  provided  an 
indemnity,  and  abundantly  given  satisfaction  to  us  and  to  our  suc- 
cessors, and  to  the  church  of  Moray.  And  we  have  given  full  satis- 
faction to  the  church  of  Forays  and  the  Archdeacons  of  Moray§  for 
those  things  that  belonged  to  them.  In  sure  and  indubitable  testi- 
mony of  the  things  aforesaid,  to  this  writing  along  with  our  seal  is 
affixed  the  seal  of  our  chapter,  together  with  the  subscriptions  of  the 
canons.  Done  in  the  year  of  grace  one  thousand  two  hundred  and 
thirty-seven. 

t%*  I,  ANDREW,  Bishop  of  Moray  and  Canon  of  the  Holy  Trinity 

of  Elgin,  subscribe.  *|< 

>J<  I,  WILLIAM,  Precentor  of  Moray,  subscribe.  >p 
>J«  I,  WILLIAM,  Chancellor  of  the  church  of  Moray,  subscribe.  >J< 
t%*  I,  WILLIAM,  Archdeacon  of  Moray,  subscribe.  *J* 
>J«  I,  JOHN  OF  BEREWIC,  Canon  of  the  church  of  Moray,  subscribe.^ 
t%*  I,  ANDREW,  Canon  of  Moray,  subscribe.  t%* 
*%*  I,  WALTER,  Canon  of  Kingussy,  subscribe.  t%t 
t%t  I,  R.,  Canon  of  Duppol,  subscribe.  >J« 
*%*  I,  JOHN,  Canon  of  Crumbdol,  subscribe.  ^ 
^  I,  WALTER,  Subdean  of  Moray,  subscribe.  *|« 
t%*  I,  ARCHIBALD,  Canon  of  Croyn,  subscribe,  t^t 

*  The  bishop  perhaps  refers  to  the  grant  to  his  see  by  William  the  Lion  of  the 
tithes  of  the  king's  can,  or  rents  in  kind,  but  the  bishop's  charter  seems  by  Pope 
Urban's  confirmation  to  have  been  sufficient  to  grant  the  corn  tithes. 

f  This  is  probably  Fern  way,  which,  according  to  Mr  Forsyth  (Acct.  Moray,  p.  173), 
is  the  original  name  of  the  district  of  Fernoway  or  Darnaway.  This  district,  or  the 
forest  part  of  it,  became  the  property  of  Thomas  Randolph,  Earl  of  Moray,  who  is 
said  to  have  founded  Darnaway  Castle  between  1315  and  1331. 

J  Kintessack  is  the  present  name  of  a  locality  in  the  parish  of  Dyke. 

§  Although  Bishop  Bricius  had  erected  the  canonry  of  Forres  and  Logyn- 
Fythenach  for  the  benefit  of  the  Archdeacon  of  Moray,  yet,  for  some  reason,  the 
gift  of  Logyn-Fythenach  required  confirmation.  This  confirmation  was  enforced 
as  a  condition  by  Alexander  in  his  grant  to  the  bishop,  in  the  month  of  September 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.        65 

In  1239  we  have  Symon  Prior  of  Pluscardine  a  witness  to 
the  charter,*  by  which,  among  other  churches,  the  church  of 
Fernuau,  formed  out  of  the  Byset  parish  of  Dunballoch,  was 
granted  by  the  Bishop  of  Moray  to  the  canons  of  Elgin. 

In  1263  Pope  Urban  IV.  granted  a  Bull  to  Pluscardine. 
He,  after  the  example  of  Gregory,  of  happy  memory,  takes 
the  monastery  under  the  protection  of  the  Blessed  Peter  and 
himself.  He  appoints  that  the  monastic  order  which  has 
been  instituted  in  the  monastery  according  to  God  and  the 
rule  of  St  Benedict,  and  the  institution  of  the  Brethren  of  Val- 
liscaulium  should  for  all  times  be  observed  there.  He  con- 
firms the  grants  made  to  the  house,  especially  the  place  where 
the  monastery  is  situated,  with  all  its  appurtenances  ;  the 
church  situated  in  the  town,  called  Durris  [Dores],  with  the 
tithes  of  sheaves  of  the  same  place ;  the  right  of  patronage 
in  the  church ;  the  tithes  of  sheaves  in  the  forests  of  Pluscar- 
din  and  Wthutyr ;  the  tithes  of  the  mills  placed  in  the  same 
forests,  and  of  the  iron  dug  in  the  same ;  the  right  of  fishing 
with  twenty  nets  in  the  Spey ;  and  the  mill  with  the  streams, 
which  the  monks  have  in  the  town  called  Elgyn.  The  lands 
and  possessions  in  the  places  commonly  called  Fernauay, 
Thulidoui,  Kep,  the  Greater  Kintessoch  and  Mefth  are  con- 
firmed ;  also  the  land  and  forest  called  Pluscardin  and 
Wthutyr.  Nobody  is  to  take  tithes  from  their  gardens,  under- 
woods, fishings,  or  meadows.  The  monks  may  receive  to  con- 
version those  flying  from  the  secular  power.  There  are  the 
usual  restrictions  against  leaving  the  House  without  the  prior's 
licence ;  and  against  any  monk  or  lay  brother  being  surety, 
and  borrowing  money ;  leave  to  say  the  holy  offices  during  an 
interdict ;  and  no  prior  is  to  be  placed  at  their  head  except  he 
who  is  chosen  by  the  majority.  The  Bull  is  dated  at  Viterbo, 
3d  July  1263^ 

1236,  of  Finlarg.  He  grants  Finlarg  in  exchange  for  the  wood  called  Cawood, 
and  for  Logyn-Fythenach,  of  which  latter  place  the  bishop  should  be  bound  to 
make  a  full  grant  to  William,  Archdeacon  of  Moray,  and  his  successors  for  ever. 
This  grant  had  probably  been  made  in  the  interval  between  September  1236  and 
1237- 

*  Reg.  Mor.,  p.  35.  t  Spalding  Mis.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  404. 


66      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Symon  seems  to  have  been  a  long  time  prior,  for  Dominus 
Symon,  Prior  de  Pluscardine,  is  witness  to  a  charter  by  John 
the  son  of  Malcolm  de  Moravia,  which  Mr  Innes  puts  down 
as  of  the  date  1284,  and  which  is  witnessed  by  William,  Earl 
of  Sutherland,  and  William,  Earl  of  Ross.*  In  his  time  the 
monks  of  Pluscardine  arranged  with  the  burgesses  of  Elgin, 
that  the  monks  should  have  the  lands  which  lay  between  the 
two  mills  of  Elgin  in  lieu  of  an  obligation  on  the  town  to 
repair  the  mills  and  stanks,  with  which  the  burgh  was  then 
burdened.  The  convention  is  dated  St  Nicholas's  Day  I2/2.T 
Patrick  Heyrock  was  provost,  and  Hugo  Bisset  one  of  the 
burgesses;  and  Hugo  Herock,  in  1286,  has  Simon,  Prior  of 
Pluscardine,  as  a  witness  to  his  endowment  of  the  chaplains 
of  St  Nicholas  and  the  Holy  Cross  at  Elgin.  J  By  1330  the 
Heyrocks  have  become  treasurers  of  the  church  of  Moray,  and 
the  controversy  between  the  town  and  the  priory  is  now  as  to 
the  multures.  The  monks  are  to  have  the  seventeenth  vessel 
or  vat  of  corn  in  lieu  of  other  multures.  § 

John,  Bishop  of  Moray,  and  Richard,  Bishop  of  Dunkeld, 
in  a  Cathedral  Chapter  of  the  Church  of  Moray,  held  on  the 
loth  of  October  I345,||  having  before  them,  summoned  by 
the  Bishop  of  Moray,  John  Wyse  the  prior,  Adam  Marshall 
the  subprior,  and  William  of  Inverness  and  Adam  Young 
monks,  of  the  House  of  the  Vale  of  St  Andrew  of  Pluscardine, 
interrogate  them,  and  extract  from  them  this  statement, — 
That  from  the  first  foundation  of  the  House  of  Pluscardine, 
as  they  have  heard  from  their  predecessors  and  seen  in  their 
own  time,  the  bishops  of  Moray  for  the  time  being,  as  often 
as  they  thought  fit,  had  exercised  the  right  of  visitation  and 
correction,  institution  and  deprivation,  over  the  priors  and 
brethren  of  the  House  of  Pluscardine,  and  received  procura- 
tions ;  and  the  prior  and  monks  admitted  that  they  had  no 
exemption  or  privilege  against  this  right,  which  was  now,  and 
had  been  from  time  beyond  memory,  exercised  by  the  Bishops 
of  Moray.  Nor  was  this  all.  Sir  William  de  Longo  Vico, 

*  Reg.  Mor.,  462.  f  Family  of  Innes,  p.  55.  J  Reg.  Mor.,  283. 

§  Family  of  Innes,  p.  57.        ||  Reg.  Mor.,  157. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.        67 

a  monk  of  the  Rennard  Valley,  of  the  diocese  of  Toul,  as 
nuncio  of  the  Order  of  the  Valliscaulians,  and  proctor  of  the 
prior  of  the  House  of  Valliscaulium  in  the  diocese  of  Langres, 
stated  that  the  bishops  and  diocesan  archbishops,  as  well  in 
Germany  as  in  other  parts  beyond  the  sea,  in  "whose  diocese 
Houses  of  the  Valliscaulian  order  were  situated,  down  to  this 
time  had  exercised,  and  now  exercise,  in  their  dioceses,  the  right 
of  visitation  and  correction  over  these  Houses,  and  received 
procurations.  There  were  present  the  Chancellor  and  official  of 
Moray,  the  Chancellor  of  Glasgow,  the  Treasurer  of  Dunkeld, 
and  the  Canons  of  Moray,  specially  called  to  be  witnesses. 

The  House  of  Pluscardine  had  further  troubles  in  connec- 
tion with  their  multures.  Robert  de  Chisholm,  who  was  Lord 
of  Quarrywood,  near  Elgin,  refused  to  pay  multures  to  the 
prior.  The  House  appealed  to  the  Bishop  of  Moray,  and 
Alexander  Bar,  the  then  prelate,  issued  a  monition  to  Sir 
Archibald  Douglas,  knight,  in  April  1390,  in  the  following 
terms  :* 

"  Honourable  and  noble  Sir, — You  and  John  de  Kay,  sheriff 
of  Inverness,  have  determined  a  certain  process  in  such  man- 
ner, as  God  knows,  to  the  grievous  injury  of  the  Priory  of  Plus- 
cardine, and  to  the  great  prejudice  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Church,  which  we  crave  to  have  by  you  recalled  ;  for  we  assert 
and  declare  that  Alexander,  King  of  Scotland,  of  pious  memory, 
gifted  to  the  prior  and  monks  of  Pluscardine  the  mills  of  Elgin 
and  Forres  and  other  mills  depending  on  them,  and  the  mulc- 
tures  of  the  lands  of  those  mills  which  he  then  received,  or 
ought  to  have  received,  as  they  were  for  the  deliverance  of  his 
soul,  which  mulctures  of  the  lands,  when  arable,  by  virtue  of 
the  donation,  the  said  prior  and  monks  have  received,  likeas 
they  yet  without  dispute  receive  ;  and  whereas  the  mulctures 
of  the  lands  of  Quarrywood,  in  the  sheriffdom  of  Elgon,  at 
that  time  unimproved,  but  now  reduced  to  cultivation,  belongs 
and  appertains  to  the  mill  of  Elgin,  from  which  it  is  scarcely 
a  mile  distant ;  because,  if  it  had  been  at  that  time  cultivated, 
the  mulctures  would,  and  ought  to  have  been,  received  by  the 
*  Reg.  Mor.,  p.  169.  Forsyth's  Moray,  p.  133. 


68      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

royal  granter."  The  complaint,  after  stating  undisturbed 
possession,  with  the  knowledge  and  tolerance  of  Robert  de 
Chisholm,  knight,  during  the  preceding  reigns,  "  further  asserts 
and  declares  that  the  said  Robert  had  seized  and  bound  a 
certain  husbandman  of  the  lands  of  Findrassie  (Finrossie),  to 
whom  the  prior  had  by  contract  let  the  said  mulctures,  and 
thrown  him  into  a  private  prison,  by  which  he  directly  incurred 
the  sentence  of  excommunication."  The  complaint  proceeds 
to  show  cause  why  the  action  could  not  be  determined  by  the 
civil,  but  by  the  ecclesiastical  court,  and  concludes  by  threat- 
ening to  excommunicate  the  civil  judges  if  they  attempted 
anything  further  by  which  the  priory  might  be  wronged  or  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Church  marred. 

On  the  1 6th  of  April  1390  Sir  Thomas,  Prior  of  the  House 
of  Pluscardine,  records  a  solemn  instrument  of  protest  against 
the  proceedings  of  Sir  Robert  de  Chisholm.*  The  prior  and 
the  knight,  however,  attest  a  charter  of  John  of  Dunbar,  Earl 
of  Moray,  to  the  burgh  of  Elgin  on  the  1st  of  May  1390,  by 
which  the  earl  discharged  to  the  town  for  ever  the  ale  of 
assize  belonging  to  him,  as  constable  of  the  castle  of  Elgin.-f- 

Quarrywood  is  in  the  parish  of  Spynie,  and  is  so  called  from 
a  rich  quarry  of  freestone  in  these  lands.  It  belonged  in  1 365  to 
Sir  Robert  Lauder,  whose  grandson,  Sir  Robert  de  Chesholme, 
then  constable  of  Urquhart  Castle  (to  whom  John  Randolph, 
Earl  of  Moray,  had  given  in  1 345  j  the  lands  of  Invermoriston 
and  of  Lochletter  in  Glenmoriston,  and  Glen  Urquhart),  in 
January  1365,  married  his  daughter  to  Rose  of  Kilravock.§ 
Shaw  wonders  that  Sir  Robert  Lauder  could  be  alive  when 

*  Family  of  Innes,  p.  65. 

+  Ib.,  p.  67,  Shaw  explains  the  assize  of  ale  to  be  the  quantity  of  ale  which  the 
burgh  was  bound  to  furnish  to  the  earl  as  constable ;  and,  as  Dr  Cowell  observes, 
assisa  panis  sometimes  signifies  a  portion  of  bread,  and  the  Doctor  derives  the 
expression  "sizar"  at  Cambridge,  from  the  quantity  of  bread  which  those  students 
who  had  sizarships  were  entitled  to  receive.  But  Dr  Cowell  explains  assisa  panis 
et  cerevisice  as  the  power  or  privilege  of  assizing  or  adjusting  the  weights  and 
measures  of  bread  and  beer;  this  privilege  was  one  belonging  to  the  lord  of  a 
town,  and  was  accompanied  with  a  power  of  demanding  fees  and  fines,  and  it  is 
probably  this  privilege  which  was  surrendered  by  the  earl. 

J  Family  of  Innes,  p.  60.  §  Family  of  Kilravock,  p.  37. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.        69 

his  great-granddaughter  was  married,  but  the  Lauders  of  the 
Bass  were  a  stout  race,  and  he  was  not  only  alive,  but  able  to 
enter  into  a  deed  with  his  grandson  in  1 366. 

Sir  Robert  de  Chisholm's  method  of  taking  the  law  into  his 
hands  against  the  Church  was  a  month  after  outrageously 
exceeded  by  Alexander  Stewart,  the  "Wolf  of  Badenoch,"  who 
burnt  Elgin  and  the  cathedral  on  St  Botolph's  Day,  i/th  June 
1390.  It  seems  that  among  the  Bulls,  apostolic  letters,  public 
instruments,  charters,  and  other  writings  burnt  with  the  cathe- 
dral, were  those  by  which  the  rights  of  the  Priory  of  the  Val- 
liscaulians  at  Pluscardine,  and  its  privileges  and  statutes  and 
foundations,  could  be  manifested.  Pope  Benedict  XIII.,  in 
1404,  issued  a  commission  to  the  Bishop  of  Aberdeen  to 
inquire  for  any  other  copies  of  the  evidences  burnt,  but  it 
does  not  appear  that  those  of  the  House  of  Pluscardine  were 
collected.* 

Whether  the  prior  succeeded  in  rescuing  his  multures,  we 
cannot  ascertain,  but  the  plea  of  exclusive  jurisdiction  set  up 
by  the  Church  when  the  temporal  rights  of  a  monastery  were 
in  dispute  is  not  likely  to  have  been  sustained.  In  1388,  the 
appeal  of  a  monk  of  the  Priory  of  Urquhart  in  Moray  against 
the  investiture  of  a  prior  of  Urquhart  by  the  Bishop  of  Moray, 
was  finally  decided  by  King  Robert  III.  and  the  clergy  in 
Parliament  on  the  I2th  March  I39i.f 

The  mode  in  which  the  election  of  priors  and  their  confirma- 
tion by  the  bishop  was  managed,  is  shown  by  what  happened 
in  the  Priory  of  Pluscardine  in  1398.  Thomas,  the  head  of  the 
House,  on  the  7th  August  1398^  resigns  the  priory  into  the 
hands  of  the  Bishop  of  Moray;  on  the  I3th  of  the  same 
month  the  senior  monk  announces  to  the  bishop  that  Alex- 
ander de  Pluscardine,  one  of  the  monks,  was  unanimously 
elected  prior ;  that  the  Te  Deum  was  duly  chanted  after  the 
election,  and  that  the  House  in  full  chapter  assembled  craved 
the  bishop's  confirmation.  §  And  on  the  Vigil  of  the  Assump- 
tion (i4th  August)  the  bishop  ||  issues  an  order  that  any  one 

*  Reg.  Mor.,  p.  422.  +  Preface  Stat.  Eccl.  Scot.,  p.  51,  N.  (6). 

t  Reg.  Mor.,  353.  §  Ib.t  356.  II  lb.t  357. 


70      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

opposing  the  election  should  appear  on  the  2ist  of  the  same 
month  ;  and  on  the  2ist  the  election  of  Alexander  is  confirmed 
by  the  bishop,  reserving  to  himself  and  successors  the  right 
of  annual  visitation.  As  yet  no  usurpation  by  the  Pope  had 
taken  place  of  the  rights  of  the  Valliscaulian  monks  to  elect 
their  own  prior, — a  usurpation  which  we  have  seen  Alexander 
Borgia  attempt  in  the  Priory  of  Beauly. 

The  Priory  of  Urquhart  was  founded  by  King  David  I.,* 
and  partly  endowed  by  the  Abbey  of  Dunfermline,  whose 
grant  the  foundation  charter  confirms.  The  charter  has  no 
date,  but  is  usually  stated  to  be  1125.  It  is  in  form  a  grant 
to  the  Church  of  Urquhart  and  the  prior  and  brethren  serving 
there.  The  Papal  Bulls  of  1163  and  1182  to  Dunfermline 
include  Urquhart  and  the  church  of  Urquhart  among  the 
possessions  of  the  abbey;  and  in  1234  Pope  Gregory  IX. 
expressly  confirms  it  to  the  abbey  as  the  Cell  of  Urquhart  in 
Moray,  with  the  Church  lands  and  other  pertinents.^ 

A  cell  might  be  a  grange  J  or  house,  with  ample  farm 
buildings,  erected  upon  lands  at  a  distance  from  the  monastery 
to  which  the  cell  belonged  ;  there  two  or  three  of  the  monks 
lived,  reaped  the  crops,  collected  the  rents,  and  remitted  them 
to  the  superior  house.  Thus  Pluscardine  had  a  grange  and 
cell  of  monks  in  the  parish  of  Dyke,  §  who  superintended  their 
farm  and  estate  of  Grangehill,  now  Dalvey.  ||  At  times  a  cell 
was  an  oratory,  where  a  certain  number  of  monks  were 
allowed  to  retire  for  prayer  and  meditation.lT 

*  Reg.  Dunf.,  15.  +/£.,  151,  154,  156,  175. 

J  Wordsworth  has  poetically  described  the  office  of  a  cell  when  a  grange,  in  his 
poem  on  the  Cell  of  St  Bees, — 

"  Who  with  the  ploughshare  clove  the  barren  moors, 
And  to  green  meadows  changed  the  swampy  shores? 
Thinned  the  rank  woods :  and  for  the  cheerful  GRANGE 
Made  room — where  wolf  and  boar  were  used  to  range. " 
§  Forsyth's  Moray,  p.  77. 

||  In  the  beautiful  gardens  of  Dalvey  there  is  a  venerable  apple-tree,  which  still 
blossoms  richly,  and  bears  some  fruit ;  it  is  impossible  to  ascertain  its  age,  but  it 
is  conjectured,  with  some  appearance  of  truth,  that  it  was  planted  by  the  monks 
of  Pluscardine  (New  Statistical  Ace.,  Dyke,  p.  219). 
IT  Ducange  in  verbo  Cella. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.        71 

Urquhart  was  governed  by  a  prior  who,  in  1343,  was  suffi- 
ciently independent  to  settle  the  obligation  of  the  priory  to 
pay  the  expense  of  serving  the  chapel  of  Kilravock  ;*  but  in 
1358  the  Abbot  of  Dunfermline  asserted  that  the  prior  could 
not  be  elected  without  his  sanction.  In  1429  there  is  a  letter 
from  Columban,  Bishop  of  Moray,  authorising  the  commis- 
sioner of  the  Abbot  of  Dunfermline — the  king's  assent  having 
been  also  obtained  to  the  commission — to  inquire  into,  correct, 
and  reform  the  priorate  and  prior  of  the  abbot's  cell  of 
Urquhart  on  account  of  some  crimes  come  to  the  ears  of  the 
abbotf 

The  bishop  at  the  same  time  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
Prior  of  Urquhart,  Sir  Andrew  Raeburn,  informing  him  that 
the  abbot  intended,  by  his  commissioner,  to  hold  a  visita- 
tion of  the  priory,  and  requiring  the  prior  to  attend  it.  J 
What  faults  the  Prior  of  Urquhart  had  committed  does  not 
appear,  nor  the  result  of  the  visitation.  Great  care  was  taken 
in  the  rules  of  the  Benedictine  order  that  cells  should  not 
lapse  into  places  where  monastic  discipline  was  neglected. 

Some  twenty -five  years  later  the  charms  of  the  Priory  of 
Pluscardine  excited  the  cupidity  of  a  principal  officer  of  the 
House  of  Dunfermline.  The  transaction  which  followed  and 
gratified  the  covetous  sacristan  of  Dunfermline  is  by  Shaw 
and  Forsyth  attributed  to  the  vices  of  the  Pluscardine  monks. 

"  The  monks  of  Pluscardine,"  writes  Shaw,  "  becoming  vici- 
ous, the  priory  was  reformed  and  made  a  cell  of  Dunfermline." 
"  The  Convent  of  Pluscardine  was  free  from  episcopal  juris- 
diction," says  Forsyth,  "  but  becoming  licentious,  soon  after 
1460  the  white  monks  were  expelled,  the  black  were  intro- 
duced, and  the  priory  made  a  cell  of  Dunfermline."  The 
property  of  the  House  had  dwindled,  and  the  priory  church 
and  priory  buildings  had  become  ruinated  in  1398,  for  the 
election  of  Alexander  proceeded  on  his  being  expected  to 
defend  the  possessions  and  to  repair  the  church  and  dwellings 
of  the  monks.  §  John  Benale,  Prior  of  Urquhart,  whose  con- 

*  Family  of  Kilravock,  p.  1 1 2.  t  Reg-  Dunf.,  167. 

I  Reg.  Dunf.,  282,  283.  §  Reg.  Mor.,  356. 


72      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

vent  of  brethren  seems  to  have  consisted  of  two  monks,  in  1454 
petitions  Pope  Nicholas  V.*  that  he  would  unite  the  priories 
of  Urquhart  and  Pluscardine.  The  petition  stated  that  these 
two  priories  were  conventual,  curative,  and  elective,  and  were 
acknowledged  to  be  foundations  of  kings  of  Scotland  ;  that 
by  reason  of  wars,  mortalities,  and  other  calamities,  the  income 
of  the  priories  had  so  diminished  that  they  were  unable  to 
keep  up  a  prior  in  each  House  with  a  decent  and  competent 
number  of  religious  men,  or  to  keep  the  buildings  of  each 
house  in  proper  order,  or  to  maintain  Divine  service ;  so  that 
in  Pluscardine  there  were  generally  not  above  six  monks, 
in  Urquhart  two  only.  The  petition  stated  that  Pluscardine 
was  a  dependent  member  of  the  Priory  of  Valliscaulium  in  the 
diocese  of  Langres  in  France,  and  on  account  of  the  great  dis- 
tance of  Pluscardine  from  Valliscaulium,  and  other  inconveni- 
ences, it  was  unable  to  be  visited  by  the  mother  house  or 
her  substitutes,  or  to  obtain  any  help  from  her,  and  that  it 
would  be  desirable  it  should  be  wholly  separated  from  the 
Priory  of  Valliscaulium,  and  that  the  Priory  of  Urquhart, 
which  depended  on  the  Monastery  of  Dunfermline  of  the 
order  of  St  Benedict,  were  annexed  and  united  to  Pluscardine. 

The  Pope,  on  the  I2th  of  March  1454,  issued  a  commission 
to  the  Abbot  of  Lindores  and  the  Chancellor  and  Treasurer  of 
Moray,  stating  the  petition  of  the  Prior  of  Urquhart,  and 
authorising  them  to  inquire  into  the  truth  of  its  allegations, 
and  the  consent  of  the  King  being  obtained,  to  carry  out  the 
union.  The  Papal  Bull  requires  the  commissioners  to  assign 
some  proper  compensation  for  the  change  to  the  Priory 
and  Order  of  Valliscaulium.  It  asserts  that  Andrew  Haag, 
Prior  of  Pluscardine,  had  resigned  on  a  pension  of  £12,  and 
appoints  or  authorises  the  commissioners  to  appoint  John 
Benale  prior  of  Pluscardine. 

On  the  8th  of  November  I454,f  the  Abbot  of  Dunferm- 
line granted  a  commission  to  William  de  Boys  to  receive  the 
professions  into  the  Benedictine  order,  of  the  monks  of  Plus- 
cardine. 

*  Theiner  Mon.  Vet.  Scot,  et  Hib.,  p.  391.  +  Reg.  Dunf.,  333. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.        73 

John,  who  was  then  appointed  prior,  was  apparently  a  per- 
son of  importance,  for  Elizabeth,  Dowager  Countess  of  Moray, 
executing  a  deed*  at  Forres  on  2Oth  May  1455,  says,  "the 
said  Elizabeth,  Countess  of  Morra,  in  absence  of  her  own  sele, 
has  procurit  the  sele  of  a  worshippful  fader,  Done  John  Benolda, 
Prior  of  Pluscardine ;"  a  curious  instance  of  the  translation  of 
the  "  Dominus." 

In  November  1456  the  exchange  is  completed  ;  on  the  7th -f- 
there  is  a  commission  of  the  Abbot  of  Dunfermline  to  William 
de  Boys,  the  sacristan,  to  visit  the  Priory  of  Pluscardine ;  it  is 
addressed  to  John  de  Benaly,  and  on  the  same  day,|  on  Wil- 
liam de  Boys'  resignation,  John  de  Benale  is  made  Sacristan 
of  Dunfermline.  On  the  8th  there  is  a  letter  from  the  Abbot 
of  Dunfermline  to  the  Abbot  of  Kinloss,§  informing  him  that 
John  de  Benaly  had  resigned  the  Priorate  of  Pluscardine,  and 
requesting  him  to  confirm  the  new  prior  if  elected. 

With  his  commission  of  visitation  in  his  pocket,  the  influence 
of  William  de  Boys  was  enough  to  procure  his  election,  and  in 
1460  we  find  him  named  William  de  Boys,  Prior  of  Pluscar- 
dine and  Urcharde.||  He  did  not  allow  the  rights  of  his  house 
to  be  violated,  for  in  1463  he  obtained  a  declaration  from  the 
Chancellor  of  Moray  that  the  church  of  Dingwall  in  Ross- 
shire,  with  all  its  fruits,  belonged  to  the  Prior  of  Pluscardine. 
How  long  he  continued  does  not  appear,  but  in  1500,  Robert 
is  the  Prior  of  Pluscardine.  On  the  3d  February  1501  this 
person  executed  a  deed,  printed  in  the  book  of  Kilravock,1T 
which  is  interesting,  not  only  from  the  rarity  of  any  documents 
of  the  convent  of  Pluscardine,  but  also  from  its  throwing  some 
light  on  the  subject  of  mills  and  multures,  so  constantly  mixed 
up  with  the  Valliscaulian  priories. 

"  The  erecting  the  machinery  of  a  corn-mill,"  says  Mr  For- 
syth,**  "  could  not  formerly  be  undertaken  by  any  person  in  a 
rank  inferior  to  a  baron,  a  bishop,  or  an  hereditary  sheriff." 

*  Miscellany  of  Spalding  Club,  vol.  iv.,  p.  130. 
f  Reg.  Dunf.,  337.  S/^.,339- 

§  /*.,  339-  II  /*•,  353,  354- 

^  Family  of  Kilravock,  p.  171.  **  Forsyth's  Moray,  p.  131. 


74     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

The  Pluscardine  House,  by  this  deed,  thirl  all  the  growing 
corn  of  their  lands  of  Penyck*  to  the  mill  of  the  laird  of 
Lochloy,  "  but  the  annexation  of  the  foresaid  corns  to  the 
foresaid  myll  till  indure  ay  and  quhill  we  or  cure  successors 
thinks  it  speidful  to  big  ane  myll  of  our  awin,  or  caus  ony 
vther  to  big  in  our  name  a  myll  to  grund  our  foresaid  ten- 
nantes  corneys."  It  concludes  thus  : 

"  And  this  contract  was  maid  at  Pluscardin  undir  owre  common  seill, 
with  our  subscriptiones  manualle,  the  thride  day  of  Februar  in  the 
yere  of  God  a  thousand  and  five  hundreitht  year. 
"  Ego,  ROBERTUS,  prior  ad  suprascripta  subscribe. 
Et  ego,  ADAM  FORMAN,  ad  idem.      Et  ego,  JACOBUS  WYOT,  ad  idem. 
Et  ego,  ANDREAS  BROUN,  ad  idem.  Et  ego,  JOHANNES  HAY,  ad  idem. 
Et  ego,  ANDREAS  ALAIN,  ad  idem.    Et  ego,  JACOBUS  JUSTICE,  ad  idem. 

*  Pennik  was  given  to  the  Abbey  of  Dunfermline  by  David  I.  (Reg.  Dunf. ,  14), 
and  by  the  Abbey  to  the  Priory  of  Urquhart  at  its  foundation  (Reg.  Dunf.,  17). 


IMMANUEL  KANT  IN  HIS  RELATION  TO  MODERN 

HISTORY. 

BY  GUSTAVUS  GEORGE  ZERFFI,  ESQ.,  Ph.D.,  F.R.S.L., 

Fellow  of  the  Royal  Historical  Society. 

SINGLE  individuals  stand  to  the  general  historical  develop- 
ment of  humanity  in  the  same  relation  as  do  detached  stones, 
statues,  corbels,  spires,  or  weather-cocks  to  a  building.  The 
individual,  in  the  eyes  of  the  philosophical  historian,  has  only 
so  far  an  interest  as  he  forms  a  link  in  the  great  chain  of 
human  activity ;  or  one  stone  in  the  historical  dome.  The 
individual  is  the  outgrowth  of  his  times,  his  dwelling-place  or 
country,  the  intellectual  and  social  atmosphere  in  which  he 
has  been  reared  and  nourished.  In  proposing  to  read  a  paper 
on  Immanuel  Kant,  I  did  not  intend  to  occupy  your  time 
with  his  private  life,  or  little  biographical  notices  of  his 
character,  but  to  place  before  you  my  objective  views  as  to 
his  influence  on  our  mode  of  thinking  as  the  basis  of  our 
modern  history.  I  purpose  to  keep  to  the  general  principles 
which  I  laid  down  before  you  in  my  paper  "On  the 
Possibility  of  a  strictly  Scientific  Treatment  of  Universal 
History"  (see  vol.  III.,  Transactions  of  Royal  Historical 
Society,  page  380),  and  shall  try  to  apply  those  principles  in 
sketching  the  development  of  an  individual  in  whom  the 
static  and  dynamic  forces  working  in  humanity  were  well 
balanced.  Kant,  as  philosopher,  is  merely  a  link  in  a  long 
chain  of  mighty  speculative  and  empirical  or  deductive  and 
inductive  thinkers,  who  serve  to  illustrate,  that  from  the 
earliest  times  of  the  awakening  consciousness  of  humanity 
man  tried  to  bring  about  an  understanding  of  the  natural  and 
intellectual  phenomena  surrounding  him.  The  method  which 
these  thinkers  pursued  was  either  a  priori  or  a  posteriori; 
they  either  started  with  general  principles,  and  reasoned  from 


76      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

them  down  to  particulars  ;  or  they  followed  the  more  thorny 
path  of  arguing  from  particulars,  in  order  to  come  to  general 
conclusions.  Finally,  Kant  stands  by  himself  in  founding  a 
system  which  succeeded  in  bringing  harmony  into  these  two 
conflicting  methods.  He  may  be  said  to  have  been  the  only 
"deducto-inductive"  philosopher.  He  was  a  genius  able  to 
grasp  mind  and  matter,  the  noumenal  and  phenomenal  in 
their  innermost  connection,  and  succeeded  in  destroying  a 
one-sidedness  in  philosophy  which  often  had  been  detrimental 
to  the  real  progress  of  science. 

Bacon  and  Descartes  opposed  the  old  methods  of  philo- 
sophy, and  endeavoured  to  explain  the  various  phenomena  of 
nature  on  a  merely  mechanical  basis.  But  Bacon,  after  all, 
was  a  reviver  of  the  atomistic  theory  of  Demokritos,  whilst 
Leibnitz,  in  opposing  Bacon,  Descartes,  and  Spinoza,  and 
their  teleological  principles,  turned  back  to  Plato  and  Aristotle 
in  order  to  unite  a  priori  the  conflicting  elements  of  the  two 
Greek  philosophers  in  his  theory  of  monads.  Kant  is  neither 
exclusively  empirical  nor  teleological ;  he  is  the  creator  of  an 
entirely  new  mode  of  thinking  and  studying.  All  philosophy 
before  Kant  was  more  or  less  theology.  The  circle  of  ex- 
perience was  extremely  narrow ;  and  theology  bore  all  before 
it :  none  could  gainsay  it.  Explanations  and  hypotheses, 
drawn  from  the  fertile  sources  of  imagination  and  intuition, 
productive  of  surmises  and  conjecture,  had  full  play,  and 
ruled  supreme.  Free  will,  the  senses,  perception,  matter, 
spirit,  body,  soul,  nature,  God,  and  universe,  were  settled  as 
entities  out  of  the  inner  consciousness  of  poets,  prophets,  or 
philosophers.  By  degrees,  and  slowly,  experience  tried  to 
collect  and  heap  up  observations,  which  were  at  first  isolated ; 
often  in  contradiction  to  certain  a  priori  settled  assumptions  ; 
but  subsequently  they  were  arranged  and  brought  into 
mutual  relation,  and  we  see  natural  sciences  take  a  position 
apparently  opposed  to  theology,  philosophy,  and  metaphysics. 
Matter  affecting  and  impressing  our  senses,  acting  and  re- 
acting on  them,  was  pronounced  to  be  the  only  thing  we 
could  grasp,  or  know  anything  of.  The  experimentalist 


KANT  IN  RELATION  TO  MODERN  HISTORY.  77 

grew  angry  with  the  metaphysicians  or  theologians,  and 
blamed  the  efforts  of  those  who  argued  on  matters  which  he 
was  trying  to  discover  by  means  of  scientific  observation. 
Either  the  theologians  come  to  the  same  final  results  as  we 
men  of  science,  then  they  are  entirely  superfluous ;  or  they 
persist  in  opposing  us  with  false  assumptions,  propagating 
thus  errors  which  are  detrimental  to  the  progress  of  know- 
ledge, and  then  they  are  worse  than  superfluous ;  they  are 
altogether  pernicious.  From  this  conflict,  also,  a  division  in 
the  scientific  world  arose.  Some  devoted  themselves  exclu- 
sively to  "  realism,"  others  to  "  idealism."  Everywhere,  at 
this  period,  we  see  strife  and  warfare. 

In  ancient  times,  as  in  the  Middle  Ages,  the  experimental 
sciences  were  but  unruly  and  undisciplined  children,  con- 
tinually finding  fault  with  their  mother,  speculation  ;  history 
was  yet  unknown ;  mere  chronicles,  or,  at  the  most,  biogra- 
phies, existed.  The  knowledge  of  connecting  laws  was  want- 
ing, all  was  guesswork,  all  was  a  disconnected  heap  of  facts 
in  sciences  as  well  as  in  history.  The  discovery  of  America, 
and  the  Reformation,  suddenly  changed  the  very  mode  of 
thinking.  Without  the  Reformation,  no  philosopher  of  the 
stamp  of  Bacon  could  have  been  possible.  Philosophy  de- 
tached itself  through  Bacon  from  theology,  and  entered  the 
lists  of  experimental  science  ;  so  intimate  was  the  connection 
between  philosophy  and  experiment  that  we,  in  England, 
speak  of  a  microscope  as  a  philosophical  instrument,  and  might 
even  call  a  new  method  of  dyeing  silk,  or  a  new  way  of 
manuring  a  philosophical  invention.  In  consequence  of 
this  one-sidedness,  inaugurated  by  Bacon,  we  became  more 
and  more  devoted  to  a  realistic,  or,  as  some  people  have  it, 
materialistic  and  practical  philosophy,  and  failed  to  see  that 
there  was  a  power  in  us  which  has  to  arrange,  to  systematise, 
and  even  to  apply  what  has  been  gathered  on  the  fields 
of  experience.  Opposed  to  this  realistic  school  were  first 
Descartes  and  Leibnitz.  The  pure  intellect  was  to  be  the 
source  of  all  knowledge ;  nothing  was  worth  studying,  except 
what  could  be  reduced  to  an  algebraic  formula.  Spinoza 


78      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

brought  this  theory  to  perfection.  Not  only  nature,  but  all 
human  life,  with  all  its  fluctuating  passions,  was  to  be  ex- 
plained by  mathematical  rules.  Man's  sufferings,  actions, 
intentions,  and  motives  were  to  be  treated  as  planes,  triangles, 
spheres,  cubes,  squares,  pyramids,  or  polyhedrons,  etc. 
Leibnitz  tried  to  save  philosophy  from  these  matter  of  fact 
tendencies.  He  discovered  in  mathematics  the  differential  and 
infinitesimal  "  calculus  ;"  and  in  physics  a  new  law — motion. 
He  strove  to  establish  a  union  between  primitive  and  final 
causes.  He  had  an  idea  that  the  contrast  between  inorganic 
and  organic,  natural  and  spiritual,  mechanical  and  moral 
elements  must  cease  through  the  notion  of  continuity  in  the 
unity  of  gradually  progressive,  self-acting  forces.  His  system 
reached  its  climax  in  his  "  Theodicy,"  altogether  beyond  the 
comprehension  of  human  intellect.  He  dimly  felt  that  there 
ought  to  be  a  union  between  metaphysics  and  experience ;  but 
the  solution  of  this  problem  was  beyond  his  powers.  Pro- 
fessor Christian  Wolf  was  a  thorough  dogmatist.  Philosophy 
was  to  him  the  knowledge  of  everything  possible.  Anything 
was  possible  that  could  be  brought  under  a  strict  logical 
law,  according  to  the  principium  identitatis,  contradictionis, 
and  rationis  sufficientis.  We  were  taken  back  by  him  to  the 
categories  of  Aristotle.  Experimental  philosophy  and  meta- 
physics were  again  separated  ;  the  latter  was  to  make  us 
acquainted  with  the  essence  of  things  from  a  speculative  point 
of  view.  This  was  treated  of  by  Wolf  in  his  "  Ontology,"  under 
the  heading  "  De  Entitate;"  comprising  the  simple,  compound, 
final,  infinite,  perfect,  imperfect,  accidental,  and  necessary 
substances.  The  universe,  soul  and  God,  were  discussed 
according  to  these  ontological  categories,  as  subjects  of  Wolfs 
cosmology,  pneumatology,  and  theology.  Dogmatism  in 
philosophy  celebrated  its  greatest  triumphs  before  the  dazzled  ' 
eyes  of  Europe.  Dialectics  ruled  supreme.  Explanations 
were  given,  and  the  unfathomable  was  again  fathomed — of 
course,  only  in  words.  Kant  stepped  on  the  philosophical 
platform  when  the  dogmatism  of  Wolf  was  in  its  zenith ;  he 
was  himself  a  pupil  of  this  mighty  metaphysician.  The 


KANT  IN  RELATION  TO  MODERN  HISTORY.  79 

struggle  between  the  sciences  a  priori  and  those  a  posteriori 
was  recommenced.  The  foundations  of  metaphysics,  under- 
mined by  Bacon,  Descartes,  Leibnitz,  and  Spinoza,  stood 
propped  up  by  Wolfs  ingenuity ;  but  his  system  was  terribly 
shaken  again  by  the  mighty  sceptical  philosophers  of  England 
and  Scotland.  Bacon  already  denied  that  metaphysics,  treat- 
ing of  the  supernatural,  could  be  a  science.  Locke  went 
further ;  he  set  down  experience  and  perceptions  as  the  basis 
upon  which  to  build  up  a  system  of  philosophy.  Sensation 
and  reflection  were  to  be  the  leading  elements.  Bacon  de- 
clared the  supernatural  to  be  an  impossibility,  and  Locke 
pronounced  even  the  supersensual  a  mere  fiction,  opposing 
Descartes,  as  the  latter  opposed  Bacon.  Locke's  final  dogma 
was,  that  experience  cannot  make  us  acquainted  with  the 
essence  of  things,  but  merely  with  their  impressions  on  our 
senses.  Berkeley,  in  analysing  sensual  impressions,  found 
them  producing  perceptions,  and  therefore  turned  upon  the 
realists  and  proclaimed  triumphantly  that,  after  all,  every- 
thing is  "idea."  He  thus  confounded  effect  and  cause,  and 
pronounced  them  to  be  identical.  All  observations  are  mere 
impressions  on  our  senses,  but  these  produce  perceptions. 
Perceptions  are  ideas,  therefore  everything  is  mere  idea.  All 
material  things,  if  deprived  of  our  perception,  are  nothing. 
There  are  only  perceiving  and  perceived  elements  or  ideas  in 
us,  which  take  their  origin  in  God.  Berkeley's  dogma  may 
be  summed  up  thus :  God  has  endowed  us  with  the  faculty  of 
perception  through  impression  ;  all  knowledge  is,  therefore,  of 
divine  origin.  His  dogmatism  led  to  Hume's  scepticism. 
Hume  started  by  endeavouring  to  find  out,  whether  we  might 
become  conscious  of  the  impressions  made  by  perceptions  on 
our  senses,  and  whether  knowledge  were  possible  beyond 
such  perceptions.  He  assumed  only  one  possible  science — 
mathematics,  the  conclusions  of  which  are  analytic  (according 
to  him),  by  means  of  equations.  Empirical  conclusions  he 
wishes  only  to  be  based  on  the  laws  of  causation  (the  nexus 
causa/is),  and  the  whole  of  his  philosophy  may  be  reduced  to 
the  question  :  Is  a  cognisable  causal  "  nexus"  between  the 


80      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

objects  of  experience  and  their  impressions  on  our  senses 
possible  ?  He  denies  this  most  peremptorily.  Reason  cannot 
connect  different  impressions,  and  at  the  same  time  trace 
their  causes  with  certainty ;  her  conclusions  are  only  analytic, 
but  never  synthetic.  All  conclusions  drawn  by  experience 
can,  therefore,  never  be  strictly  demonstrated,  as  we  can  only 
recognise  the  effect,  but  never  the  necessary  cause.  Neither 
reason  nor  experience  can  give  us  a  real  insight  into  causality, 
and  this  very  causality  is  one  of  the  essential  features  of 
science.  What  we  are  capable  of  attaining  is  a  continuation 
of  facts  and  impressions.  Theflost  hoc  becomes  a  propter  hoc, 
or  the  "after"  a  "therefore."  This  change  is  performed 
through  our  reasoning  faculty.  The  causal  nexus  is  a  mere 
assumption ;  it  is  a  faith,  a  belief,  like  any  other,  and  not  a 
reality.  This  will  suffice  to  characterise  the  philosophical 
stand-point  at  the  period  when  Kant  began  his  career. 

Glancing  at  the  political  and  social  condition  of  his  times, 
we  find  him  entering  the  university  when  Wolf  returned  to 
Halle,  and  Frederic  II.  ascended  the  throne.  The  Seven 
Years'  War  interrupted  his  academical  studies.  He  finished 
his  great  work  at  the  time  when  Frederic  the  Great  ended 
his  glorious  life.  He  was  attacked  and  persecuted  under  the 
government  of  Frederic  William  II.,  but  finished  his  career, 
once  more  allowed  to  breathe  a  free  and  independent  thinker 
under  Frederic  William  III.  Kant  was  born  on  the  22d  of 
April  1724  at  Konigsberg.  His  ancestors  were  of  Scottish 
origin,  thus  Kant  indirectly  is  a  countryman  of  the  great 
Scotsman,  David  Hume,  from  whom  he  descended  in  a 
direct  spiritual  line  as  philosopher.  It  is  often  interesting  to 
trace  the  general  law  of  action  and  reaction  in  single  in- 
dividuals. The  most  influential  agents  have  been  educated 
by  those  who  were  to  fall  a  sacrifice  to  the  destructive  in- 
tellectual powers  of  their  pupils.  Bacon  was  educated  by 
Scholastics ;  Descartes  by  Jesuits ;  Spinoza  by  Rabbis ;  and 
Kant  by  Pietists.  Kant  never  could  understand  the  un- 
healthy and  deadening  principles  of  his  pietistic  masters ;  he 
learned  from  them  a  certain  discipline  of  the  mind,  for  which 


KANT  IN  RELATION  TO  MODERN  HISTORY.  81 

he  was  always  grateful.  He  was  a  stern  moralist  in  thought 
and  deed  all  his  life. 

Seven  years  (from  1733  to  1740)  he  frequented  the 
"Collegium  Fredericianum ;"  nine  years  (from  1746-1755)  he 
was  tutor  in  three  different  families  ;  and  on  the  I2th  of  June 
1755,  he  took  his  degree  with  a  dissertation  "On  Fire."  In 
April  1756,  he  was  made  a  private  teacher  at  the  University, 
and  had  to  spend  fifteen  years  of  his  life  in  that  position,  till 
he  was  at  last  appointed  "  Professor  ordinarius  "  of  the  univer- 
sity at  Konigsberg.  In  the  year  1756  he  delivered  his  first 
lecture.  He  was  so  nervous  that  his  voice  nearly  failed  him,  and 
he  was  scarcely  heard  ;  but  the  next  lecture  was  better,  and  at 
last  he  became  famous  for  his  learning,  and  the  amiability  of 
his  delivery.  He  continually  asserted  that  his  intention  was 
not  to  teach  what  had  been  taught,  but  to  suggest  and  to 
rouse  the  minds  of  his  hearers  to  self-thought  and  self-reason- 
ing. He  declared,  publicly,  that  his  students  could  not  learn 
philosophy  from  him,  but  how  to  think  for  themselves.  From 
the  year  1760  he  took  up  various  subjects  in  addition  to  Philo- 
sophy. He  lectured  to  the  theological  faculty  on  "Natural  Theo- 
logy;" to  large  audiences  on  "Anthropology"  and  "Physi- 
cal Geography."  In  1763  and  1764  he  published  his  "Only 
possible  means  to  prove  the  Existence  of  the  Divinity,"  and 
his  "  Observations  on  the  Beautiful  and  Sublime,"  and  gave 
lectures  on  these  two  subjects.  In  1781  appeared  his  greatest 
work,  under  the  title,  "  Critique  of  Pure  Reason  ;"  in  1783  he 
published  his  "  Prolegomena  of  any  possible  Metaphysics ;" 
in  1785  his  "Principles  of  a  Metaphysic  of  Morals  ;"  in  1786 
his  "  Metaphysical  Introduction  to  the  Natural  Sciences  ;"  in 
1788  his  "Critique  of  Practical  Reason;"  and  in  1790,  his 
"Critique  of  our  Reasoning  Faculty  ;"  in  1793,  his  "Religion 
within  the  limits  of  Pure  Reason." 

He  died  on,  the  I2th  of  February  1804.  What  a  period — 
what  a  life  from  1724  to '1804!  He  witnessed  the  Seven 
Years'  War,  the  French  Revolution,  the  Establishment  of 
the  American  Republic,  the  fall  of  the  Convention,  the  rise  of 
Napoleon — the  political  and  social  change  of  everything  in 


82      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Europe.  Schiller  and  Goethe  were  inspired  by  him.  He 
saw  action  and  reaction,  flux  and  reflux  in  human  thoughts 
and  achievements.  Sciences  of  unknown  subjects  sprang  up. 
Geology,  under  Werner,  began  hypothetically  to  step  forward 
with  uncertainty  and  timidity.  Oken  proclaimed  his  theory 
of  evolution  in  unintelligible  alchemistic  phrases.  Everything 
appeared  to  assume  new  phases.  Men  were  either  inclined 
to  Voltairian  incredulity,  to  Rousseau's  fanaticism,  Hume's 
scepticism,  or  Jesuitic  bigotry.  Mysticism  went  hand  in  hand 
with  a  negation  of  all  things.  Swedenborg  stood  in  the  fore- 
ground with  his  supernatural  epileptic  fits ;  whilst  Holbach, 
Grimm,  and  D'Alembert  denied  even  our  spiritual  faculty 
of  "negation."  The  intellectual  state  of  Europe  was  but  a 
reflex  of  the  social  and  political  condition  of  the  times.  Old 
mediaeval  France,  with  her  centralised  organisation  grown  out 
of  the  grossest  feudalism,  was  in  dissolution  ;  Germany  sighed 
under  two  hundred  and  forty  major  and  minor  despots,  and 
a  childish,  almost  Chinese,  over-regulation  in  public  matters  ; 
England  was,  at  least,  Parliamentary  free,  the  abode  of  the 
greatest  orators  that  ever  raised  their  voices  for  the  public 
welfare.  America  possessed  a  Washington  ;  France,  a  Robes- 
pierre and  Napoleon  ;  England,  a  Chatham  and  Burke ;  and 
Germany,  a  Kant,  Hamann,  Herder,  and  Jacobi. 

Like  a  bright  sun  shedding  lustre  around,  the  Teuton 
philosopher  stands  high  above  his  times,  witnessing  in  serene 
splendour  the  intellectual,  religious,  and  political  chaos 
beneath  him,  out  of  which  grew  our  nineteenth  century.  Not 
without  meaning  has  he  been  placed  on  the  monument  of 
Frederic  the  Great  as  first  among  the  mighty  generals  of 
the  still  mightier  king.  Socially  and  politically,  Frederic 
II.,  and  intellectually  and  philosophically,  Immanuel  Kant, 
understood  the  progressively  advancing  spirit  of  their  times. 
And  therein  consists  the  real  merit  of  a  historical  character. 
No  glorious  battles,  no  victories,  no  extensions  of  territory, 
no  artificially  embellished  towns,  no  momentary  prosperity  in 
commercial  enterprises  can  make  up  for  a  misunderstand- 
ing ;  or,  according  to  my  theory,  for  an  untimely  disturbance 


KANT  IN  RELATION  TO  MODERN  HISTORY.  83 

of  the  acting  and  reacting  moral  and  intellectual  forces  in 
humanity.  He  who,  in  history  or  science,  dares  to  touch 
that  balance  and  disturbs  its  equilibrium,  can  but  bring 
trouble  on  humanity,  for  he  forces  generation  after  generation 
to  endeavour  to  readjust  that  balance.  Kant's  private,  as 
well  as  public  life,  was  one  great  and  successful  effort  to  keep 
our  morals  and  our  intellect  within  the  boundaries  of  the 
possible. 

Independence  and  the  most  punctual  legality  were  to  be 
the  basis  of  the  individual  and  of  the  State,  as  but  an  aggregate 
of  individuals.  Pure  moral  principles,  without  any  admixture 
of  dogmatic  dross,  were  to  be  the  moving  springs  of  humanity; 
our  knowledge  was  to  be  based  on  a  full  consciousness  of  the 
possibility  and  certainty  of  our  conclusions.  The  most  im- 
portant step  to  attain  was  to  trace  in  the  phenomena  of 
human  thoughts  and  actions  a  certain  law.  To  show  how 
far  we,  as  finite  beings,  endowed  with  intellect,  might  grasp 
space  and  time,  the  infinite,  the  invisible,  the  transcendental, 
the  supersensual,  so  as  not  to  waste  our  faculties  on  matters 
which  must  remain  for  ever  unapproachable  in  the  dominion 
of  science,  was  to  render  the  very  greatest  service  to  humanity. 
Kant  achieved  this  task.  His  "  Critique  of  Pure  Reason"  was 
partly  misunderstood,  or  rather,  generally  not  understood  at  all, 
or  was  distorted,  because  some  felt  it  to  be  the  death-warrant 
of  all  speculative  efforts,  metaphysical  verbiage,  and  dogmatic 
quarrels.  The  book  was  decried  as  unintelligible  transcend- 
entalism and  incomprehensible  dialecticism.  Kant's  inter- 
pretation of  transcendentalism  was  one  which  some  people 
would  not  like  to  admit.  By  this  expression,  he  meant  simply 
to  transcend,  "  to  step  over,"  the  boundaries  of  dogmatism, 
and  to  ascertain,  after  having  shaken  off  this  dead  weight, 
how  far  we  might  proceed  in  the  regions  of  the  supersensual. 
His  great  merit  was  to  prove  that  our  transcending  certain 
limits  leads  to  nothing  but  to  mere  assumptions  ;  whether  such 
assumptions  and  surmises  are  necessary  for  certain  emotional 
purposes,  he  does  not  decide.  He  affirms  our  capacity  of 
becoming  conscious  of  perceptions,  and  tries  to  trace  the  con- 


84     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

ditions  under  which  perceptions  may  be  systematised,  and 
thus  increase  our  scientific  acquirements. 

His  philosophy  is,  therefore,  not  sceptic,  but  critical.  His 
very  first  principle,  in  starting  on  the  thorny  path  of  philosophy, 
was  "  never  to  take  an  assertion  for  granted,  without  having 
carefully  examined  it."  "  Neither  affirm  nor  deny  without  the 
most  minute  investigation." 

Who  does  not  see,  in  these  propositions,  the  germ  of  our 
modern  mode  of  thinking ;  who  does  not  perceive  that  the 
intellectual  development  of  humanity  was  to  be  based  on 
principles  differing  totally  from  those  of  antiquated  authority 
or  blind  faith  ?  He  was  by  no  means  an  "  anti-dogmatist ;" 
he  only  looked  on  dogmatic  metaphysics  and  experimental 
philosophy  as  two  unknown  quantities.  The  more  the  latter 
increased,  the  more  the  former  decreased  in  value ;  till,  when 
experimental  philosophy  went  over  into  scepticism,  the  stand- 
point of  metaphysics  was  brought  down  to  zero.  At  this  point 
Kant  pronounced  it  not  only  valueless,  but  utterly  useless. 
The  mere  playing  with  words  on  words,  dialectical  contortions 
and  distortions,  metaphysical  writhings  and  grimaces,  were 
utterly  repulsive  to  his  noble,  straightforward  nature.  The 
power  that  thought  in  us,  and  was  conscious  of  this  process, 
namely,  mind,  he  not  only  recognised,  but  tried  to  discipline. 

He  began  his  philosophical  studies  in  1740,  and  thirty  years 
later,  he  founded  his  new  system.  The  first  work  with  which 
he  inaugurated  his  new  method  of  reasoning  was  published  in 
1768,  and  his  last  appeared  in  1798,  again  after  exactly  thirty 
years  of  mature  reflection.  Each  decennary  had  its  task. 
During  the  first  three  he  approaches,  step  by  step,  the 
solution  of  his  system,  whilst  during  the  last  three  we  see 
him  applying  his  discovery,  and  bringing  his  system  to  per- 
fection. During  the  first  two  decennaries  (1740-1760),  Kant 
investigates  and  follows  up  the  postulates  of  the  Leibnitz- 
Wolf  philosophy;  during  the  third  (1760-1770),  he  is  occupied 
with  an  analysis  of  the  leading  English  philosophers,  especially 
with  Hume's  scepticism  ;  and  in  1770  he  raises  himself  far 
above  the  dogmatic  metaphysicians  and  the  dry  experi- 


KANT  IN  RELATION  TO  MODERN  HISTORY.  85 

mentalists,  and  takes  his  own  lofty  position.  During  the 
fourth  decennary  he  is  silent ;  during  the  fifth,  he  publishes 
his  "Critique  of  Pure  Reason"  (1780-1790),  defines  the  ex- 
tent to  which  we  may  trust  our  power  to  draw  conclusions, 
and  tries,  in  this  last  decennary,  to  apply  his  well-founded 
system  to  solve  the  positive  problems  of  Universal  History. 

During  the  first  period,  he  enters  into  an  inquiry  on  the 
moving  forces  of  the  universe,  and  endeavours  to  establish  a 
nexus  between  cause  and  effect. 

During  the  second  period,  he  traces  the  possibility  or  im- 
possibility of  proving  a  first  cause.  If  cause,  why  first,  and 
how  so  first  ?  He  then  comes  to  the  only  possible  mode  of 
proving  the  existence  of  a  first  cause,  namely  —  the  ontolo- 
gical.  Out  of  the  mere  notion  "  God,"  the  existence  of  God 
cannot  be  proved  ;  but  taking  all  the  attributes  necessary  to 
form  the  conception  of  God,  such  a  being  may  not  only  be 
assumed  to  exist,  but  must  necessarily  exist.  In  following 
up  Kant's  critical  reasoning,  we  arrive  at  a  mathematical  con- 
viction of  the  existence  of  God,  which  is  of  greater  value  than 
the  mere  dogmatic  assumption.  Anything  not  in  itself  con- 
tradictory is  cognisable,  say  the  idealists.  Only  that  is  cog- 
nisable which  exists,  say  the  realists.  Supposing  nothing 
existed,  then  we  could  think  nothing.  In  denying  these  two 
conditions,  we  should  deny  every  intellectual  and  material 
possibility.  Assuming  that  something  is  possible,  we  must 
look  upon  it  as  the  sequence  of  something  that  existed  pre- 
viously. There  must  be/or  everything  a  final  cause.  This  final 
cause  cannot  be  denied  ;  its  existence,  on  the  contrary,  must 
be  assumed.  There  must  be  a  something  before  anything  is 
possible,  without  which  nothing  could  be  possible.  This 
necessary  existence  may  be  conceived  as  indivisible  in  its 
essence,  simple  in  its  element,  spiritual  in  its  being,  eternal  in 
its  duration,  unchangeable  in  its  condition — in  one  word,  it 
must  be  GOD  !  This  once  enunciated  and  assumed,  he  went 
a  step  further  and  examined  the  modus  operandi  of  our 
mind  with  its  intellectual  and  reasoning  faculties.  What,  he 
asked,  is  within  the  range  of  real  cognition  ?  He  compares 


86      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

metaphysics  and  mathematics,  and  finds,  that  whilst  the 
former  is  entirely  based  on  analysis,  the  latter  is  founded  on 
synthesis. 

Bydrawing  a  strict  distinction  between  analytic  and  synthetic, 
conclusions,  Kant  created  an  entirely  new  standpoint  for  all 
our  studies.  He  distinguishes  between  the  emotional,  as  our 
moral  and  sesthetical,  and  between  the  intellectual,  as  our 
reasoning  and  scientific  faculties.  As  morals  and  beauty,  so 
are  strict  reasoning  an,d  science  analogous  elements.  Here  he 
is  at  issue  with  Hume,  who  assumes  analysis  as  the  basis  in 
mathematics.  Kant  asserts  the  very  opposite.  Quantifies  and 
forms  are  the  objects  of  mathematics;  but  these  quantities 
and  forms  are  not  given  but  constructed  ;  they  are  combined, 
built  up  synthetically.  To  become  conscious  of  a  triangle  is 
to  construct  the  required  formal  conditions,  enabling  us  to 
perceive  in  them  a  triangle  ;  whilst  metaphysicians  have  only 
analysis  at  their  command. 

Analytic  judgments  or  conclusions  are  those  in  which  the 
predicate  is  already  contained  in  the  subject,  by  which  a  part 
of  a  whole  is  merely  detached.  In  the  assertion,  "  God  is 
omnipotent,"  I  detach  an  attribute  of  the  subject  God,  and 
assert  in  reality  nothing  but  that  God  is  God.  For  if  I  have 
a  conception  of  God,  I  have  also  a  knowledge  of  his  omni- 
potence. Such  conclusions  as  these  may  be  very  ingenious, 
but  they  do  not  contribute  to  a  widening  of  our  knowledge. 

Synthetic  conclusions  are  those  in  which  a  predicate  is 
joined  to  a  subject  which  is  altogether  extraneous,  too  often 
apparently  in  contradiction  with  it.  As  "  water  freezes."  I 
have  to  prove  how,  under  what  conditions,  and  why  water 
freezes.  I  have  to  know  what  water  and  what  freezing  is ; 
whether  in  such  a  condition  water  ceases  to  be  a  fluid,  and  if 
it  cease,  what  is  its  condition  in  a  state  of  crystallisation  ; 
what  are  crystals  ;  does  water  in  a  frozen  condition  still  con- 
tain heat ;  what  is  heat  ;  how  can  heat  be  latent  in  ice ;  does 
water  freeze  if  mixed  with  salt ;  why  should  it  freeze  with 
greater  difficulty,  if  so  mixed.  The  amount  of  knowledge 
acquired  through  synthetic  conclusions  is  ever  increasing. 


KANT  IN  RELATION  TO  MODERN  HISTORY.  87 

Analysis  is  a  mere  repetition  of  the  same  things.  Kant  took  a 
mediating  position  between  Descartes  and  Leibnitz,  between 
Leibnitz  and  Newton,  between  Wolf  and  Crusius,  and  between 
Crusius  and  Hume.  Between  the  English  experimentalists 
and  German  metaphysicians  there  appeared  always  to  be  an 
insurmountable  gulf.  Kant  tried  to  bridge  over  this  gulf. 
Metaphysics  were  to  be  turned  into  an  experimental  science. 
He  establishes  the  principles  of  natural  theology  and  morals 
out  of  the  very  properties  of  things,  though  we  may  for  ever 
remain  ignorant  of  their  real  essence.  With  reference  to  the 
existence  of  the  divinity,  he  tried  this  with  his  ontological 
proof.  With  reference  to  morals,  he  proceeded  in  the  same 
way.  Every  moral  action  must  have  an  aim  or  purpose — 
either  an  aim  for  another  secondary  aim,  or  for  its  own  final 
purpose.  In  both  instances,  the  action  is  caused  and  neces- 
sary ;  but  in  the  first  instance,  it  is  conditional,  and  in  the 
second,  unconditional.  An  action  done  for  a  secondary  pur- 
pose, for  hope  of  reward,  or  for  fear  of  punishment,  is  at  the 
utmost  right,  clever  or  reasonable,  but  it  is  not  absolutely 
moral.  In  order  to  become  moral,  it  must  be  done  uncondi- 
tionally, for  its  own  sake.  This  led  him  to  the  contemplation 
of  the  beautiful,  which  Hutcheson  and  Shaftesbury  before  him 
closely  connected  with  our  moral  feelings.  Morals  and 
aesthetics  are  so  closely  allied  that  our  moral  feelings  are  but 
a  taste  for  right  action.  Shaftesbury  calls  morals  the  beautiful 
in  our  emotions,  the  harmony  in  our  sentiments,  the  right  pro- 
portion between  our  self-love  and  benevolence.  Virtue  is 
beauty  of  action  ;  our  sense  of  virtue  is  but  our  aesthetical  feel- 
ing put  into  practice,  whilst  Art  puts  it  into  forms.  Virtue  and 
taste  are  innate  forces  in  human  nature,  like  any  other  faculty 
of  our  mind  ;  but  they  have  to  be  developed,  cultivated,  and 
fostered.  For  morals  and  aesthetics  have  one  common  root — 
they  complete  one  another.  Art  was  thus  elevated  to  its  very 
highest  standard.  How  Kant's  lofty  and  sublime  ideas  in- 
fluenced poetry  may  be  best  studied  in  the  works  of  the  im- 
mortal Schiller,  whose  writings  are  permeated  with  Kant's 
theories  and  principles.  To  suggest  was  the  principal  aim  of  all 


88      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

his  writings  of  this  period.  The  student  was  not  to  be  filled 
with  given  thoughts ;  he  was  to  be  excited  to  think  ;  he  was 
neither  to  be  carried  nor  led  ;  he  was  to  be  made  to  walk  for 
himself.  "  In  inverting  this  method  of  teaching,  the  students 
pick  up  some  kind  of  reasoning  before  ever  their  intellect  has 
been  cultivated,  and  they  carry  about  a  mere  borrowed  science. 
This  is  the  cause  that  we  meet  with  learned  men,  who  have  so 
little  intellect,  and  why  our  academies  send  so  many  more 
muddled  (abgeschmackte)  heads  into  the  world  than  any 
other  state  of  the  community." 

During  the  third  period  of  his  mental  evolution,  Kant  occu- 
pied himself  with  a  close  investigation  of  our  mental  functions. 
Psychology  and  physiology  are  with  him  not  separated,  but 
closely  united  studies.  The  workings  of  the  brain  and  the 
mind  were,  in  his  eyes,  in  close  relation,  and  he  attributed  all 
visions,  fanaticism,  melancholy,  and  sentimental  amativeness 
to  a  greater  or  lesser  degree  of  mental  aberration,  the  cause  of 
which  must  be  sought  in  thederangement  of  our  cerebral  organs. 

If  the  phantoms  of  our  imagination  turn  into  visions  ;  if 
our  inner  sensations  become  outwardly  perceptible,  our  senses 
are  in  a  state  of  dream.  If  our  reason  assumes  certain  concep- 
tions of  its  own  as  realities,  our  reason  is  in  a  state  of  dream. 
"  There  are  emotional  dreams,  and  there  are  dreams  of  our  in- 
tellectual faculty.  Visions  belong  to  the  first  class ;  meta- 
physics undoubtedly  to  the  second."  He  thus  arrives  at  a  point 
when  metaphysics  and  madness  are  treated  as  equal  abberra- 
tions  of  our  emotional  and  mental  nature,  though  their  origin 
is  distinct,  according  to  our  different  organisations.  Dogmatists 
and  metaphysicians,  visionaries,  and  ghost-seers,  are  declared 
to  be  but  "  airy  architects  of  imaginary  worlds."  Let  them 
dream  on  as  long  as  they  like — that  they  but  dream,  becomes 
day  by  day  clearer.  Metaphysics  were  developed  by  Kant's 
inquiries  into  a  study  to  make  ourselves  acquainted  with  the 
limitation  of  human  reason.  We  may,  with  its  aid,  as  Goethe 
sayh,  in  a  Kantian  sense 

"  There  see  that  you  can  clearly  explain 
What  fits  not  into  the  human  brain." 


KANT  IN  RELATION  TO  MODERN  HISTORY.  89 

This  slow  and  gradual  destruction  of  all  hollow  knowledge 
led  us  to  a  greater  culture  of  those  sciences  which  are  pos- 
sible, and  have  become  an  ever-growing  barrier  to  false  and 
credulous  sentimentalism  and  emotional  dogmatism.  The 
"supersensual "  is  not  within  the  boundaries  of  human  reason. 
Transcendental  philosophy  has  to  deal  with  experience,  and 
not  to  ignore  it.  No  knowledge  is  possible  beyond  the 
domains  of  our  direct  perceptions  ;  of  the  essence  of  things 
we  know  nothing;  the  noumenal  is  and  must  remain  to  us  a 
mystery ;  the  phenomenal  is  within  our  intellectual  grasp. 
An  absolute  psychology,  cosmology,  or  theology,  is  impos- 
sible. Kant  thus  does  not  deny  the  existence  of  the  "  super- 
sensual,"  he  only  denies  our  faculty  of  becoming  cognisant  of 
it.  What  an  immense  stride  towards  a  really  human,  and  at 
the  same  time,  humane,  investigation  of  all  those  elements 
which  ought  to  form  the  basis  of  our  possible  studies.  Kant 
then  goes  further,  and  proves,  with  his  trenchant  power  of 
criticism,  that  morals  are  independent  of  metaphysics,  that 
humanity  in  general,  and  every  individual  in  particular,  carry 
the  regulating  force  of  morals  already  in  their  very  organisa- 
tion. He  distinguishes  between  opinion,  faith,  and  knowledge. 
We  may  have  reasons  to  make  a  statement,  but  these  reasons 
may  be  based  on  an  utterly  subjective  conviction.  Such  a 
conviction  is  but  an  opinion,  and  does  nc/t  exclude  doubt ;  if, 
however,  our  convictions  are  based  on  objective  observation, 
our  opinion  rises  into  the  reliable  domain  of  knowledge ;  if, 
again,  our  convictions  are  based  on  subjective  elements,  sup- 
ported by  doubtful  objective  proofs,  we  may  individually  be 
convinced  of  certain  assumed  facts,  we  may  believe  in  them, 
but  we  do  not  know.  In  applying  these  important  distinc- 
tions to  the  whole  sphere  of  our  intellectual  and  material 
world,  we  were  induced  by  Kant  to  draw  more  definite  dis- 
tinctions between  the  possible  and  impossible,  the  necessary 
and  merely  accidental.  In  the  mighty  circle  of  religion,  we 
have  to  bear  three  points  in  view,  (i.)  If  all  faith  in  a  super- 
natural world  be  based  on  morals  (ethic  action),  religion  can- 
not have  any  other  essential  and  real  object  than  a  purely 


90      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

moral  one  ;  all  elements  that  do  not  foster  pure  morality  will 
be  secondary,  strange,  indifferent,  or  even  dangerous.  Religion, 
in  fact,  with  Kant,  becomes  pure  ethics.  (2.)  Ethics  are  not 
based  on  a  strictly  scientific  cognition,  or  theoretical  convic- 
tion, but  on  moral  actions  and  practical  necessity.  Not  theo- 
retical assumptions,  but  practical  reason,  becomes  thus  the 
basis  of  religious  faith.  (3.)  Granting  this,  it  follows  that  our 
practical  reason  is  independent  of  mere  theological  assertions 
that  it  discards,  as  will  and  moral  force,  all  such  boundaries  as 
are  erected  by  speculation,  and  drives  us  to  conform  to  laws 
which  must  be  common  to  the  whole  of  humanity. 

During  the  fourth  period  he  is  silent.  The  storm  of  sceptic 
doubt  was  conquered.  In  this  period  we  best  perceive  the 
positive  results  of  the  convulsions  which  brought  forth  criticism 
instead  of  scepticism,  for  though  we  acknowledge  the  force  of 
doubt,  we  think  it  should  be  subject  to  a  regulating  higher 
power,  viz.,  criticism.  During  the  fifth  period,  he  shakes  off 
the  fetters  of  idealism  and  materialism,  and  defines  in  his 
"  Critique  of  Pure  Reason,"  the  boundaries  of  man's  understand- 
ing. In  accomplishing  this,  he  assumes  two  principles  upon 
which  all  knowledge  and  philosophy  must  rest.  The  one 
is  idealistic — subjective,  and  the  other  empirical — objective. 
The  inborn  intellectual  faculty — mind  can  as  little  be  ne- 
glected as  the  outer  world  with  its  impressions  acting  on  our 
idealistic  subjectivity.  He  then  founded  cosmology,  worked 
out  by  Alex.  Humboldt  ;  Geology  by  Leopold  Buch  and 
Sir  Charles  Lyell;*  and  then  he  paved  the  way  to  the 
theory  of  Darwinism,  or  the  theory  of  the  gradual  develop- 
ment of  matter  ;  he  excited  to  anthropology  and  ethnology, 
for  he  strove  through  experience  to  trace  law  in  all  the 
phenomena  surrounding  us,  in  nature  as  well  as  in  the  subtle 
regions  of  our  mental  operations. 

These  principles  changed  the  whole  system  of  our  philoso- 
phical and  historical  studies.  Creation  was  not  assumed  to 
have  taken  place,  according  to  a  certain  dictum  ;  but  we  had 

*  Whose  recent  death  we  must  all  deeply  regret,  though  he  has  left  us  his  im- 
mortal works  as  the  most  glorious  monument  of  his  earthly  existence. 


KANT  IN  RELATION  TO  MODERN  HISTORY.  91 

to  investigate  the  earth's  crust  to  see  how  far  we  might 
trace  the  gradual  formation  of  our  globe.  Kant's  method 
produced  comparative  philology  and  mythology.  Language 
was  not  to  be  a  settled  gift,  but  was  to  be  traced  back  to 
its  first  origin  ;  this  was  the  case  with  the  different  religions  of 
ancient  times.  We  were  not  to  suppose  that  millions  were 
left  without  religious  comfort,  but  to  investigate  and  ascertain 
how  far  the  religious  systems  are  rooted  in  the  impressions  of 
nature,  how  far  they  represent  the  moral  and  social  condition 
of  certain  groups  of  mankind.  This  distinction  led  to  a  closer 
study  of  the  nature  of  man,  leading  to  biology  and  sociology  ; 
but,  above  all,  to  a  deeper  and  systematic  study  of  history. 
There  is  no  branch  of  learning  which  should  be  cultivated 
with  greater  care  than  history  ;  that  is,  history  from  a  scientific 
point  of  view.  What  appears  in  single  individuals  as  mere 
chance,  or  the  result  of  coincidence,  might  perhaps  be  looked 
upon  as  subject  to  law  like  any  other  natural  phenomenon  ; 
though,  in  the  latter  case,  unconscious  material  particles  are 
the  elements  ;  whilst  in  history,  man  with  his  consciousness, 
his  assumed  free  will,  passions,  intellectual  and  bodily  faculties, 
is  the  complicated  agent.  Kant  affirmed  (he  can  claim  the 
honour  of  having  been  the  first  to  do  so)  in  1784,  when  statis- 
tical tables  were  still  in  their  infancy,  that  in  looking  on  hu- 
manity as  a  whole,  apparently  disconnected  incidents  might  be 
brought  under  the  sway  of  certain  laws  acting  with  stern  regu- 
larity. He  drew  attention  to  the  complicated  phenomena  of 
the  changes  in  the  weather,  the  growth  of  plants  under  certain 
climatological  conditions,  the  course  of  streams  and  their 
influence  on  the  progress  of  civilization.  Individuals,  like 
whole  nations,  are  entirely  unconscious  of  the  fact  that,  whilst 
they  appear  to  work  against  one  another,  or  have  only  their 
own  egotistic  aims  in  view,  they  are  working  according  to 
certain  laws  to  accomplish  the  grand  destiny  of  mankind.  If 
it  may  be  assumed  as  an  axiom  "  that  the  natural  capacities 
of  a  creature  have  to  develop  according  to  a  purpose,"  we  may 
assert  that  this  must  be  the  case  with  man  too.  Applied  to 
animals,  we  find  this  law  obeyed,  and  producing  natural  selec- 


92      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

tion.  Any  organ  not  wanted  is  thrown  off.  Taking  man,  we 
find  that  though  he  is  the  only  conscious  reasoning  creature 
on  earth,  his  natural  capacities  are  destined  to  be  developed  in 
the  genus  and  not  in  the  individual.  Thus  the  study  of  a 
single  individual  is  like  the  analysis  of  a  single  insect  without 
any  cognisance  of  the  different  varieties  of  animals.  Histori- 
cal progress  is  not  only  the  result  of  the  exertions  of  single 
individuals,  but  those  very  individuals  are  but  the  outgrowths 
of  generations  after  generations,  inheriting  their  mode  of  think- 
ing and  acting,  and  finally  maturing  the  innate  intellectual 
germ  to  a  fruit  which,  in  its  turn,  is  again  the  seed  of  further 
developments.  For  the  First  Cause  has  willed  that  man,  if  we 
except  the  automatic  functions  of  his  animal  nature,  should 
evolve  everything  necessary  for  his  happiness  and  perfection, 
in  opposition  to  his  natural  instincts  out  of  his  own  reason — 
or  rather  out  of  the  sum  total  of  reason  existing  in  humanity. 
"  The  means  which  nature  employs  to  attain  this  aim "  is, 
according  to  Kant,  "  antagonism," — which  in  its  turn  becomes 
the  very  basis  of  legal  order  and  social  comfort.  History  is 
but  one  long  series  of  wars,  murders,  conquests,  intrigues, 
opposition  of  individuals  against  individuals,  of  families 
against  families,  of  tribes  against  tribes,  and  of  nations  against 
nations,  as  if  man  only  delighted  in  destruction  and  ruin.  But 
is  this  so  ?  On  the  contrary,  what  unphilosophical  minds 
bewail,  is  but  a  process  in  operation  to  attain  in  the  end  the 
greatest  amount  of  happiness  for  mankind.  Man  was  not 
destined  to  be  idle  ;  but  he  has  to  learn  how  to  use  his  bodily 
and  intellectual  faculties. 

Wars,  controversies,  passions,  and  strife,  lead  to  activity,  and 
activity  is  life.  Wars  engender  peace ;  controversies,  truth ; 
covetousness,  commercial  enterprise ;  passion,  virtue ;  and 
strife,  brotherly  love  and  good-will.  Antagonism  drives  us  to 
seek  the  solution  of  the  only  problem  that  should  occupy 
humanity,  to  form  one  grand  community,  ruled  by  the  laws  of 
right.  The  most  ingenious  institutions,  all  our  philosophical 
systems,  all  our  religious  efforts,  are  but  continuous  progres- 
sive attempts  to  lead  humanity  from  a  savage  state  to  that  of 


KANT  IN  RELATION  TO  MODERN  HISTORY.  93 

civilization.  To  further  the  solution  of  this  difficult  problem, 
we  want  a  guide,  a  leader,  and  this  we  find  in  the  conscious- 
ness of  our  nature  and  knowledge  of  the  past,  which  make 
us  acquainted  with  our  destiny.  We  have  not  to  look  to  an 
individual  for  guidance,  but  to  the  supreme  principles  of  right. 
Individual  bonds  are  only  instruments  that  watch  over 
these  principles  and  see  them  practised.  The  problem  of  a 
perfect  constitution  of  humanity  will  only  be  attained  when 
man  will  form  a  grand  international  tribunal  which  will  settle 
the  disputes  of  nations  according  to  just  laws,  binding  on 
humanity  at  large.  As  Kant  saw  in  his  mind's  eye  the 
necessity  for  the  existence  of  a  planet  beyond  Saturn,  the 
then  last  known  planet  of  our  solar  system  (1754),  which  planet, 
"  Uranus,"  was  discovered  twenty-six  years  later  by  Herschel 
(1781)  ;  so  he  foresaw  in  1784  that  which  America  and  Eng- 
land inaugurated  in  Geneva  nearly  ninety  years  later — an  in- 
ternational tribunal  settling  the  disputes  of  two  of  the  greatest 
nations  of  the  world,  at  a  table  covered  with  green  baize,  by 
means  of  quiet  arguments,  and  not  on  blood-stained  battle- 
fields, with  the  sacrifice  of  wealth,  happiness,  and  the  lives  of 
innumerable  human  beings.  Kant  clearly  saw  that  history 
is  but  the  outer  garb  of  inward  forces,  working  in  humanity 
according  to  a  pre-arranged  law,  which  law  must  be  assumed 
to  be  as  fixed  as  that  by  which  the  solar  systems  are  brought 
into  order  and  cohesion.  The  endeavour  of  modern  historians 
should  be  to  trace  this  law. 

Law  has  to  deal  with  forces,  producing  as  causes,  effects, 
and  these  forces  must  act  and  react,  because  a  stationary 
force  would  be  lifeless;  the  two  forces  working  in  antagonism 
and  conflict  can  but  be  our  moral  and  intellectual  faculties, 
which  in  their  disturbed  balances  explain  all  the  phenomena 
of  history.  Kant  must  be  looked  upon  as  the  real  founder  of 
modern  thought,  for  his  ideas,  like  those  of  every  powerful 
mind,  pervade  our  whole  intellectual  and  social  atmosphere. 

The  writers  following  Kant,  whether  in  England  or  France, 
consciously  or  unconsciously,  continue  in  the  path  which  he 
began  to  hew  out  for  coming  generations.  Fichte,  his  antag- 


94      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

onist,  really  strengthened  the  position  he  attacked.  Schelling 
worked  out,  like  Comte,  with  copious  verbosity,  Kant's  princi- 
ples. Their  terminology  differs  from  that  of  Kant,  but  in 
essence  they  add  nothing  to  his  first  principles.  Schelling 
proclaims  his  Immanence  of  Spirit  in  Nature,  which  immanence 
we  can  only  trace  in  law.  In  asserting  that  the  universe  has 
its  ground  in  what  in  God  is  not  God  —  Schelling  deviates 
from  Kant,  and  leads  us  to  the  Pythagorean  Monad  and 
Dyad,  a  severance  of  mind  and  matter,  or  of  God  and  crea- 
tion, which  is  mere  verbiage. 

Hegel  built  on  Kant  with  the  difference  that  with  him  the 
subjective  becomes  the  absolute,  whilst  the  objective  is  turned 
into  the  differentiation  of  the  absolute,  adding  to  these  pheno- 
mena a  third  one  when  the  absolute  turns  from  its  externality 
back  into  itself. 

Schoppenhauer  and  Hartmann  continued  to  develop  Kant's 
principles  in  an  idealistic  direction,  whilst  the  host  of  natural- 
ists, geologists,  physiologists,  biologists,  psychologists,  ethno- 
logists, and  comparative  grammarians,  follow  him,  cured  of  all 
cravings  after  the  supersensual  and  try  to  ascertain  what  we 
may  learn  in  the  ever-varying  empire  of  the  phenomenal. 

Kant  did  not  destroy  thrones  ;  he  made  no  kings  or  kinglets; 
he  did  not  brandish  a  blood-stained  sword,  command  armies, 
hold  levies,  create  marshalls,  commanders-in-chief,  shoot  free- 
thinking  men,  or  trample  under  foot  the  rights  of  nations  and 
individuals,  like  so  many  a  phantom  of  glory,  that  could  only 
be  reared  in  the  chaotic  disorder  of  our  ill-balanced  moral  and 
intellectual  forces.  Unlike  these,  he  did  not  vanish  like  a 
thunder-storm,  which  purifies  the  air,  but  leaves  wreck  and 
ruin  behind. 

The  mighty  warriors  often  are  like  swollen  mountain- 
streams  after  a  violent  shower  ;  bubbling  noisily,  these  streams 
rush  down  in  torrents,  tear  down  fences  and  houses,  inundate 
plains  and  fields,  carrying  devastation  in  every  one  of  their 
waves,  and  then  disappear:  whilst  the  philosopher,  of  the 
stamp  of  the  great  and  immortal  Kant,  resembles  a  broad  and 
majestic  intellectual  river,  cutting  deeply  through  mountains, 


KANT  IN  RELATION  TO  MODERN  HISTORY.  95 

meadows,  fields,  villages,  and  towns ;  flowing  slowly  and  noise- 
lessly, but  spreading  happiness,  fertility,  and  abundance 
around  ;  serving  as  a  mighty  high  road  to  connect  nations, 
through  their  most  noble  outgrowths,  their  philosophers  and 
searchers  for  truth,  into  one  grand  progressively  advancing 
community. 

The  great  and  inexhaustible  means  of  furthering  this  union 
is  an  indefatigable  study  of  history.  For  is  it  not  a  calumny 
of  the  Creator,  whose  wisdom  we  continually  praise  in  a  thou- 
sand tongues,  to  assume  that  we  ought  to  study  only  certain 
of  His  works,  and  neglect  altogether  man  in  his  gradual  de- 
velopment as  the  Creator's  fairest  product  ?  In  the  uncon- 
scious regions  of  the  empire  of  nature,  in  stars  and  nebulae, 
solar  systems,  crystallisations  and  chemical  combinations,  we 
trace  wisdom,  law,  and  order  ;  only  the  stages  of  man's  in- 
tellectual activity,  as  they  present  themselves  in  history,  are 
looked  upon  as  an  eternal  reproach  to  the  Creator,  who  is 
assumed  to  have  acted  on  firm  principles  in  the  minutest  of 
His  inorganic  or  organic  creatures,  but  who  is  thought  to  have 
left  humanity  without  aim,  law,  or  purpose,  on  this  globe,  so 
that  we  are  forced  to  turn  our  eyes  ^despairingly  from  this 
world,  and  to  hope  for  the  fulfilment  of  our  destiny  in  un- 
known regions. 

History,  treated  from  a  scientific  point  of  view,  teaches  us 
that  this  is  not  the  case. 

History,  as  it  is  usually  written,  without  the  basis  of  a 
general  principle,  or  merely  as  an  accumulation  of  disconnected 
facts,  state  -  enactments,  or  copied  documents,  collected  in 
musty  archives,  is  only  very  useful  building  material,  out  of 
which  we  have  to  construct  an  intelligible  and  comprehensive 
system  of  history.  It  is  distressing  to  contemplate  what  later 
generations  may  do  with  history  if  details  grow  in  the  ratio  of 
the  last  few  hundred  years.  Unfortunately  professed  historians 
ignorant  as  they  too  often  are,  assert  that  "  history  is  a  mere 
child's  box  of  letters,  out  of  which  the  historian  picks  what 
he  wants  to  spell  out  ; "  but  this  is  the  view  of  a  narrow- 
minded  state-paper  copyist,  and  not  of  a  philosophical  his- 


96      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

torian,  whose  aim  can  never  be  to  glorify  individuals,  or  to 
distort  facts  according  to  the  wants  of  a  party  or  the  fashion 
of  a  period,  but  to  look  upon  humanity  as  one  great  whole, 
and  to  trace  in  its  complicated  actions,  order  based  on  law. 

The  historical  world  is  as  little  barred  as  the  ideal  world — 
both  are  open  ;  it  is  our  faculty  of  seeing  blinded  by  details, 
it  is  our  mind  confused  by  isolated  facts,  that  will  or  cannot 
comprehend  the  stern  law  that  drives  man  towards  his  real 
destiny — the  greatest  possible  happiness  of  all  united  into  one 
common  brotherhood. 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND. 

BY  JOSEPH  FISHER,  ESQ., 

Fellow  of  the  Royal  Historical  Society. 

I  DO  not  propose  to  enter  upon  the  system  of  landholding  in 
Scotland  or  Ireland,  which  appears  to  me  to  bear  the  stamp 
of  the  Celtic  origin  of  the  people,  and  which  was  preserved  in 
Ireland  long  after  it  had  disappeared  in  other  European 
countries  formerly  inhabited  by  the  Celts.  That  ancient  race 
may  be  regarded  as  the  original  settlers  of  a  large  portion  of 
the  European  continent,  and  its  land  system  possesses  a  re- 
markable affinity  to  that  of  the  Slavonic,  the  Hindoo,  and 
even  the  New  Zealand  races.  It  was  originally  Patriarchal, 
and  then  Tribal,  and  was  Communistic  in  its  character. 

I  do  not  pretend  to  great  originality  in  my  views.  My 
efforts  have  been  to  collect  the  scattered  rays  of  light,  and  to 
bring  them  to  bear  upon  one  interesting  topic.  The  present 
is  the  child  of  the  past.  The  ideas  of  bygone  races  affect  the 
practices  of  living  people.  We  form  but  parts  of  a  whole  ;  we 
are  influenced  by  those  who  preceded  us,  and  we  shall  influence 
those  who  come  after  us.  Men  cannot  disassociate  them- 
selves either  from  the  past  or  the  future. 

In  looking  at  this  question  there  is,  I  think,  a  vast  differ- 
ence which  has  not  been  sufficiently  recognised.  It  is  the 
broad  distinction  between  the  system  arising  out  of  the  origi- 
nal occupation  of  land,  and  that  proceeding  out  of  the  necessi- 
ties of  conquest ;  perhaps  I  should  add  a  third — the  complex 
system  proceeding  from  an  amalgamation,  or  from  the  exist- 
ence of  both  systems  in  the  same  nation.  Some  countries 
have  been  so  repeatedly  swept  over  by  the  tide  of  conquest 

G 


98      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

that  but  little  of  the  aboriginal  ideas  or  systems  have  survived 
the  flood.  Others  have  submitted  to  a  change  of  governors 
and  preserved  their  customary  laws  ;  while  in  others  there  has 
been  such  a  fusion  of  the  two  systems  that  we  cannot  decide 
which  of  the  ingredients  was  the  older,  except  by  a  process 
of  analysis,  and  a  comparison  of  the  several  products  of  the 
alembic  with  the  recognised  institutions  of  the  class  of  origi- 
nal, or  of  invading  peoples. 

Efforts  have  been  made,  and  not  with  very  great  success, 
to  define  the  principle  which  governed  the  more  ancient  races 
with  regard  to  the  possession  of  land.  While  unoccupied  or  un- 
appropriated, it  was  common  to  every  settler.  It  existed  for 
the  use  of  the  whole  human  race.  The  process  by  which  that 
which  was  common  to  all,  became  the  possession  of  the  indi- 
vidual, has  not  been  clearly  stated.  The  earlier  settlers 
were  either  individuals,  families,  tribes,  or  nations.  In  some 
cases  they  were  nomadic,  and  used  the  natural  products  with- 
out taking  possession  of  the  land  ;  in  others  they  occupied 
districts  differently  defined.  The  individual  was  the  unit  of 
the  family,  the  patriarch  of  the  tribe.  The  commune  was 
formed  to  afford  mutual  protection.  Each  sept  or  tribe  in 
the  early  enjoyment  of  the  products  of  the  district  it  selected 
was  governed  by  its  own  customary  laws.  The  cohesion  of 
these  tribes  into  states  was  a  slow  process  ;  the  adoption  of 
a  general  system  of  government  still  slower.  The  disintegra- 
tion of  the  tribal  system,  and  dissolution  of  the  commune,  was 
not  evolved  out  of  the  original  elements  of  the  system  itself, 
but  was  the  effect  of  conquest ;  and,  as  far  as  I  can  discover, 
the  appropriation  to  individuals  of  land  which  was  common 
to  all,  was  mainly  brought  about  by  conquest,  and  was  guided 
by  impulse,  rather  than  regulated  by  principle. 

Mr  Locke  thinks  that  an  individual  became  sole  owner  of  a 
part  of  the  common  heritage  by  mixing  his  labour  with  the 
land,  in  fencing  it,  making  wells,  or  building  ;  and  he  illustrates 
his  position  by  the  appropriation  of  wild  animals,  which  are 
common  to  all  sportsmen,  but  become  the  property  of  him 
who  captures  or  kills  them.  This  acute  thinker  seems  to  me 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.  99 

to  have  fallen  into  a  mistake  by  confounding  land  with 
labour.  The  improvements  were  the  property  of  the  man 
who  made  them,  but  it  by  no  means  follows  that  the  expendi- 
ture of  labour  on  land  gave  any  greater  right  than  to  the 
labour  itself  or  its  representative. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  here  to  allude  to  the  use  of  the 
word  property  with  reference  to  land,  property — from  propria, 
my  own  self — is  something  pertaining  to  man.  I  have  a  pro- 
perty in  myself.  I  haVe  the  right  to  be  free.  All  that  pro- 
ceeds from  myself,  my  thoughts,  my  writings,  my  works,  are 
property  ;  but  no  man  made  land,  and  therefore  it  is  not 
property.  This  incorrect  application  of  the  word  is  the  more 
striking  in  England,  where  the  largest  title  a  man  can  have  is 
"  tenancy  in  fee,"  and  a  tenant  holds  but  does  not  own. 

Sir  William  Blackstone  places  the  possession  of  land  upon 
a  different  principle.  He  says  that,  as  society  became  formed, 
its  instinct  was  to  preserve  the  peace  ;  and  as  a  man  who  had 
taken  possession  of  land  could  not  be  disturbed  without 
using  force,  each  man  continued  to  enjoy  the  use  of  that 
which  he  had  taken  out  of  the  common  stock,  but,  he  adds, 
that  right  only  lasted  as  long  as  the  man  lived.  Death  put 
him  out  of  possession,  and  he  could  not  give  to  another  that 
which  he  ceased  to  possess  himself. 

Vattel  (book  i.,  chap,  vii.)  tells  us  that  "  the  whole  earth  is 
destined  to  feed  its  inhabitants  ;  but  this  it  would  be  incapable 
of  doing  if  it  were  uncultivated.  Every  nation  is  then  obliged 
by  the  law  of  nature  to  cultivate  the  land  that  has  fallen  to 
its  share,  and  it  has  no  right  to  enlarge  its  boundaries  or  have 
recourse  to  the  assistance  of  other  nations,  but  in  proportion 
as  the  land  in  its  possession  is  incapable  of  furnishing  it  with 
necessaries."  He  adds  (chap,  xx.),  "When  a  nation  in  a  body 
takes  possession  of  a  country,  everything  that  is  not  divided 
among  its  members  remains  common  to  the  whole  nation,  and 
is  called  public  property." 

An  ancient  Irish  tract,  which  forms  part  of  the  Senchus 
Mor,  and  is  supposed  to  be  a  portion  of  the  Brehon  code, 
and  traceable  to  the  time  of  St  Patrick,  speaks  of  land  in  a 


100      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

poetically  symbolic,  but  actually  realistic,  manner,  and  says, 
"  Land  is  perpetual  man."  All  the  ingredients  of  our  physi- 
cal frame  come  from  the  soil.  The  food  we  require  and 
enjoy,  the  clothing  which  enwraps  us,  the  fire  which  warms 
us,  all  save  the  vital  spark  that  constitutes  life,  is  of  the  land, 
hence  it  is  "perpetual  man"  Selden  ("  Titles  of  Honour," 
p.  27),  when  treating  of  the  title,  "King  of  Kings,"  refers 
to  the  eastern  custom  of  homage,  which  consisted  not  in  offer- 
ing the  person,  but  the  elements  which  composed  the  person, 
earth  and  water — "  the  perpetual  man"  of  the  Brehons — to  the 
conqueror.  He  says : 

"  So  that  both  titles,  those  of  King  of  Kings  and  Great  King,  were 
common  to  those  emperors  of  the  two  first  empires ;  as  also  (if  we 
believe  the  story  of  Judith)  that  ceremonies  of  receiving  an  acknow- 
ledgment of  regal  supremacy  (which,  by  the  way,  I  note  here,  because 
it  was  as  homage  received  by  kings  in  that  time  from  such  princes 
or  people  as  should  acknowledge  themselves  under  their  subjection) 
by  acceptance  upon  their  demand  of  earth  and  water.  This  demand 
is  often  spoken  of  as  used  by  the  Persian,  and  a  special  example  of 
it  is  in  Darius'  letters  to  Induthyr,  King  of  the  Scythians,  when  he 
first  invites  him  to  the  field ;  but  if  he  would  not,  then  bringing  to 
your  sovereign  as  gifts  earth  and  water,  come  to  a  parley.  And  one 
of  Xerxes'  ambassadors  that  came  to  demand  earth  and  water  from 
the  state  of  Lacedaemon,  to  satisfy  him,  was  thrust  into  a  well  and 
earth  cast  upon  him." 

The  earlier  races  seem  to  me,  either  by  reasoning  or  by 
instinct,  to  have  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  every  man  was, 
in  right  of  his  being,  entitled  to  food ;  that  food  was  a  pro- 
duct of  the  land,  and  therefore  every  man  was  entitled  to  the 
possession  of  land,  otherwise  his  life  depended  upon  the  will 
of  another.  The  Romans  acted  on  a  different  principle,  which 
was  "  the  spoil  to  the  victors."  He  who  could  not  defend 
and  retain  his  possessions  became  the  slave  of  the  conqueror, 
all  the  rights  of  the  vanquished  passed  to  the  victor,  who 
took  and  enjoyed  as  ample  rights  to  land  as  those  naturally 
possessed  by  the  aborigines. 

The  system  of  landholding  varies  in  different  countries,  and 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         101 

we  cannot  discover  any  idea  of  abstract  right  underlying  the 
various  differing  systems  ;  they  are  the  outcome  of  law,  the 
will  of  the  sovereign  power,  which  is  liable  to  change  with 
circumstances.  The  word  law  appears  to  be  used  to  express 
two  distinct  sentiments  ;  one,  the  will  of  the  sovereign  power, 
which,  being  accompanied  with  a  penalty,  bears  on  its  face  the 
idea  that  it  may  be  broken  by  the  individual  who  pays  the 
penalty  :  "  Thou  shalt  not  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree,  for  on  the 
day  thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  die,"  was  a  law.  All  laws, 
whether  emanating  from  an  absolute  monarch  or  from  the 
representatives  of  the  majority  of  a  state,  are  mere  expressions 
of  the  will  of  the  sovereign  power,  which  may  be  exacted  by 
force.  The  second  use  of  the  word  law  is  a  record  of  our 
experience — e.g.,  we  see  the  tides  ebb  and  flow,  and  conclude  it 
is  done  in  obedience  to  the  will  of  a  sovereign  power;  but  the 
word  in  that  sense  does  not  imply  any  violation  or  any  pun- 
ishment. A  distinction  must  also  be  drawn  between  laws 
and  codes  ;  the  former  existed  before  the  latter.  The  lex  non 
scripta  prevailed  before  letters  were  invented.  Every  com- 
mand of  the  Decalogue  was  issued,  and  punishment  followed 
for  its  breach,  before  the  existence  of  the  engraved  tables. 
The  Brehon  code,  the  Justinian  code,  the  Draconian  code,  were 
compilations  of  existing  laws  ;  and  the  same  may  be  said  of 
the  common  or  customary  law  of  England,  of  France,  and  of 
Germany. 

I  am  aware  that  recent  analytical  writers  have  sought  to 
associate  law  with  force,  and  to  hold  that  law  is  a  command, 
and  must  have  behind  it  sufficient  force  to  compel  submission. 
These  writers  find  at  the  outset  of  their  examination,  that 
customary  law,  the  "Lex  non  scripta','  existed  before  force, 
and  that  the  nomination  to  sovereign  power  was  the  outcome 
of  the  more  ancient  customary  law.  These  laws  appear  based 
upon  the  idea  of  common  good,  and  to  have  been  supported 
by  the  "  posse  comitatus "  before  standing  armies  or  state 
constabularies  were  formed.  Vattel  says  (book  i.,  chap,  ii.), "  It 
is  evident  that  men  form  a  political  society,  and  submit  to  laws 
solely  for  their  own  advantage  and  safety.  The  sovereign 


102      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

authority  is  then  established  only  for  the  common  good  of  all 
the  citizens.  The  sovereign  thus  clothed  with  the  public 
authority,  with  everything  that  constitutes  the  moral  person- 
ality of  the  nation,  of  course  becomes  bound  by  the  moral 
obligations  of  that  nation  and  invested  with  its  rights."  It 
appears  evident,  that  customary  law  was  the  will  of  small 
communities,  when  they  were  sovereign  ;  that  the  cohesion  of 
such  communities  was  a  confirmation  of  the  customs  of  each, 
that  the  election  of  a  monarch  or  a  parliament  was  a  recogni- 
tion of  these  customs,  and  that  the  moral  and  material  force  or 
power  of  the  sovereign  was  the  outcome  of  existing  laws,  and  a 
confirmation  thereof.  The  application  of  the  united  force  of 
the  nation  could  be  rightfully  directed  to  the  requirements  of 
ancient,  though  unwritten  customary  law,  and  it  could  only  be 
displaced  by  legislation,  in  which  those  concerned  took  part. 

The  duty  of  the  sovereign  (which  in  the  United  Kingdom 
means  the  Crown,  and  the  two  branches  of  the  legislature) 
with  regard  to  land,  is  thus  described  by  Vattel : 

"  Of  all  arts,  tillage  or  agriculture  is  doubtless  the  most  useful  and 
necessary,  as  being  the  source  whence  the  nation  derives  its  subsistence. 
The  cultivation  of  the  soil  causes  it  to  produce  an  infinite  increase. 
It  forms  the  surest  resource,  and  the  most  solid  fund  of  riches  and 
commerce  for  a  nation  that  enjoys  a  happy  climate.  The  sovereign 
ought  to  neglect  no  means  of  rendering  the  land  under  his  jurisdic- 
tion as  well  cultivated  as  possible.  .  .  .  Notwithstanding  the 
introduction  of  private  property  among  the  citizens,  the  nation  has 
still  the  right  to  take  the  most  effectual  measures  to  cause  the  aggre- 
gate soil  of  the  country  to  produce  the  greatest  and  most  advantage- 
ous revenue  possible.  The  cultivation  of  the  soil  deserves  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Government,  not  only  on  account  of  the  invaluable 
advantages  that  flow  from  it,  but  from  its  being  an  obligation 
imposed  by  nature  on  mankind." 

Sir  Henry  Maine  thinks  that  there  are  traces  in  England  of 
the  commune  or  mark  system  in  the  village  communities 
which  are  believed  to  have  existed,  but  these  traces  are  very 
faint  The  subsequent  changes  were  inherent  in,  and  devel- 
oped by,  the  various  conquests  that  swept  over  England  ;  even 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         103 

that  ancient  class  of  holdings  called  "Borough  English,"  are  a 
development  of  a  warlike  system,  under  which  each  son,  as  he 
came  to  manhood,  entered  upon  the  wars,  and  left  the  patri- 
monial lands  to  the  youngest  son.  The  system  of  gavelkind 
which  prevailed  in  the  kingdom  of  Kent,  survived  the  acces- 
sion of  William  of  Normandy,  and  was  partially  effaced  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  VII.  It  was  not  the  aboriginal  or  commun- 
istic system,  but  one  of  its  many  successors. 

The  various  systems  may  have  run  one  into  the  other,  but 
I  think  there  are  sufficiently  distinct  features  to  place  them  in 
the  following  order  : 

1st.  The  Aboriginal. 

2d.  The  Roman.     Population  about  1,500,000. 

3d.  The  Scandinavian  under  the  Anglo-Saxon  and  Danish 
kings — A.D.  450  to  A.D.  1066.  The  population  in  1066  was 
2,150,000. 

4th.  The  Norman,  from  A.D.  1066  to  A.D.  1 1 54.  The  popula- 
tion in  the  latter  year  was  3,350,000. 

5th.  The  Plantagenet,  from  1154  to  1485  ;  in  the  latter  the 
population  was  4,000,000. 

6th.  The  Tudor,  1485  to  1603,  when  the  population  was 
5,000,000. 

7th.  The  Stuarts,  1603  to  1714,  the  population  having 
risen  to  5,750,000. 

8th.  The  Present,  from  1714.  Down  to  1820  the  soil  sup- 
ported the  population  ;  now  about  one-half  lives  upon  food 
produced  in  other  countries.  In  1874  the  population  was 
23,648,607. 

Each  of  these  periods  has  its  own  characteristic,  but  as  I 
must  compress  my  remarks,  you  must  excuse  my  passing 
rapidly  from  one  to  the  other. 

I.   THE  ABORIGINES. 

The  aboriginal  period  is  wrapped  in  darkness,  and  I  can- 
not with  certainty  say  whether  the  system  that  prevailed 
was  Celtic  and  Tribal.  An  old  French  customary,  in  a  MS., 


104     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

treating-  upon  the  antiquity  of  tenures,  says :  "  The  first 
English  king  divided  the  land  into  four  parts.  He  gave  one 
part  to  the  Arch  Flamens  to  pray  for  him  and  his  posterity. 
A  second  part  he  gave  to  the  earls  and  nobility,  to  do  him 
knight's  service.  A  third  part  he  divided  among  husband- 
men, to  hold  of  him  in  socage.  The  fourth  he  gave  to 
mechanical  persons  to  hold  in  burgage."  The  terms  used  apply 
to  a  much  more  recent  period  and  more  modern  ideas. 

Caesar  tells  us  "that  the  island  of  Britain  abounds  in  cattle, 
and  the  greatest  part  of  those  within  the  country  never  sow 
their  land,  but  live  on  flesh  and  milk.  The  sea-coasts  are 
inhabited  by  colonies  from  Belgium,  which,  having  established 
themselves  in  Britain,  began  to  cultivate  the  soil." 

Diodorus  Siculus  says,  "The  Britons,  when  they  have 
reaped  their  corn,  by  cutting  the  ears  from  the  stubble,  lay 
them  up  for  preservation  in  subterranean  caves  or  granaries. 
From  thence,  they  say,  in  very  ancient  times,  they  used  to  take 
a  certain  quantity  of  ears  out  every  day,  and  having  dried 
and  bruised  the  grains,  made  a  kind  of  food  for  their  immedi- 
ate use." 

Jeffrey  of  Monmouth  relates  that  one  of  the  laws  of  Dun- 
walls  Molnutus,  who  is  said  to  have  reigned  B.C.  500,  enacted 
that  the  ploughs  of  the  husbandmen,  as  well  as  the  temples  of 
the  gods,  should  be  sanctuaries  to  such  criminals  as  fled  to 
them  for  protection. 

Tacitus  states  that  the  Britons  were  not  a  free  people,  but 
were  under  subjection  to  many  different  kings. 

Dr  Henry,  quoting  Tacitus,  says,  "  In  the  ancient  German 
and  British  nation  the  whole  riches  of  the  people  consisted 
in  their  flocks  and  herds  ;  the  laws  of  succession  were  few  and 
simple  :  a  man's  cattle,  at  his  death,  were  equally  divided 
among  his  sons  ;  or,  if  he  had  no  sons,  his  daughters  ;  or,  if  he 
had  no  children,  among  his  nearest  relations.  These  nations 
seem  to  have  had  no  idea  of  the  rights  of  primogeniture,  or 
that  the  eldest  son  had  any  title  to  a  larger  share  of  his 
father's  effects  than  the  youngest." 

The  population  of  England  was  scanty,  and  did  not  prob- 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         105 

ably  exceed  a  million  of  inhabitants.  They  were  split  up  into 
a  vast  number  of  petty  chieftainries  or  kingdoms  ;  there  was  no 
cohesion  ;  no  means  of  communication  between  them  ;  there 
was  no  sovereign  pow^r  which  could  call  out  and  combine 
the  whole  strength  of  the  nation.  No  single  chieftain  could 
oppose  to  the  Romans  a  greater  force  than  that  of  one  of  its 
legions,  and  when  a  footing  was  obtained  in  the  island,  the  war 
became  one  of  detail;  it  was  a  provincial  rather  than  a 
national  contest.  The  brave,  though  untrained  and  ill-discip- 
lined warriors,  fell  before  the  Romans,  just  as  the  Red  Man  of 
North  America  was  vanquished  by  the  English  settlers. 

II.   THE   ROMAN. 

The  Romans  acted  with  regard  to  all  conquered  nations  upon 
the  maxim, "  To  the  victors  the  spoils."  Britain  was  no  excep- 
tion. The  Romans  were  the  first  to  discover  or  create  an 
estate  of  uses  in  land,  as  distinct  from  an  estate  of  possession. 
The  more  ancient  nations,  the  Jews  and  the  Greeks,  never 
recognised  the  estate  of  uses,  though  there  is  some  indication 
of  it  in  the  relation  established  by  Joseph  in  Egypt,  when, 
during  the  years  of  famine,  he  purchased  for  Pharaoh  the 
lands  of  the  people.  The  Romans  having  seized  upon  lands 
in  Italy  belonging  to  conquered  nations,  considered  them 
public  lands,  and  rented  them  to  the  soldiery,  thus  retaining 
for  the  state  the  estate  in  the  lands,  but  giving  the  occupier 
an  estate  of  uses.  The  rent  of  these  public  lands  was  fixed  at 
one-tenth  of  the  produce,  and  this  was  termed  usufruct — the 
use  of  the  fruits. 

The  British  chiefs,  who  submitted  to  the  Romans,  were 
subjected  to  a  tribute  or  rent  in  corn  ;  it  varied,  according  to 
circumstances,  from  one-fifth  to  one-twentieth  of  the  produce. 
The  grower  was  bound  to  deliver  it  at  the  prescribed  places. 
This  was  felt  to  be  a  great  hardship,  as  they  were  often  obliged 
to  carry  the  grain  great  distances,  or  pay  a  bribe  to  be  excused. 
This  oppressive  law  was  altered  by  Julius  Agricola. 

The  Romans  patronised  agriculture.      Cato  says,  "When 


106      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

the  Romans  designed  to  bestow  the  highest  praise  on  a  good 
man,  they  used  to  say  he  understood  agriculture  well,  and  is 
an  excellent  husbandman,  for  this  was  esteemed  the  greatest 
and  most  honourable  character."  Their  system  produced  a 
great  alteration  in  Britain,  and  converted  it  into  the  most 
plentiful  province  of  the  empire ;  it  produced  sufficient  corn 
for  its  own  inhabitants,  for  the  Roman  legions,  and  also 
afforded  a  great  surplus,  which  was  sent  up  the  Rhine.  The 
Emperor  Julian  built  new  granaries  in  Germany,  in  which 
he  stored  the  corn  brought  from  Britain.  Agriculture  had 
greatly  improved  in  England  under  the  Romans. 

The  Romans  do  not  appear  to  have  established  in  England 
any  military  tenures  of  land,  such  as  those  they  created  along 
the  Danube  and  the  Rhine  ;  nor  do  they  appear  to  have  taken 
possession  of  the  land  ;  the  tax  they  imposed  upon  it,  though 
paid  in  kind,  was  more  of  the  nature  of  a  tribute  than  a  rent. 
Though  some  of  the  best  of  the  soldiers  in  the  Roman  legions 
were  Britons,  yet  their  rule  completely  enervated  the 
aboriginal  inhabitants — they  were  left  without  leaders,  with- 
out cohesion.  Their  land  was  held  by  permission  of  the 
conquerors.  The  wall  erected  at  so  much  labour  in  the  north 
of  England  proved  a  less  effectual  barrier  against  the  incur- 
sions of  the  Picts  and  Scots  than  the  living  barrier  of  armed 
men  which,  at  a  later  period,  successfully  repelled  their  in- 
vasions. The  Roman  rule  affords  another  example  that 
material  prosperity  cannot  secure  the  liberties  of  a  people, 
that  they  must  be  armed  and  prepared  to  repel  by  force  any 
aggression  upon  their  liberty  or  their  estates. 

"  Who  will  be  free  themselves  must  strike  the  blow." 

The  prosperous  "  Britons,"  who  were  left  by  the  Romans  in 
'possession  of  the  island,  were  but  feeble  representatives  of 
those  who,  under  Caractacus  and  Boadicea,  did  not  shrink 
from  combat  with  the  legions  of  Caesar.  Uninured  to  arms,  and 
accustomed  to  obedience,  they  looked  for  a  fresh  master,  and 
sunk  into  servitude  and  serfdom,  from  which  they  never 
emerged.  Yet  under  the  Romans  they  had  thriven  and 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         107 

increased  in  material  wealth  ;  the  island  abounded  in  numer- 
ous flocks  and  herds  ;  and  agriculture,  which  was  encouraged 
by  the  Romans,  flourished.  This  wealth  was  but  one  of  the 
temptations  to  the  invaders,  who  seized  not  only  upon  the 
movable  wealth  of  the  natives,  but  also  upon  the  land,  and 
divided  it  among  themselves. 

The  warlike  portion  of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  appear  to 
have  joined  the  Cymri  and  retired  westwards.  Their  system 
of  landholding  was  non-feudal,  inasmuch  as  each  man's  land 
was  divided  among  all  his  sons.  One  of  the  laws  of  Hoel 
Dha,  King  of  Wales  in  the  tenth  century,  decreed  "  that  the 
youngest  son  shall  have  an  equal  share  of  the  estate  with  the 
eldest  son,  and  that 'when  the  brothers  have  divided  their 
father's  estate  among  them,  the  youngest  son  shall  have  the 
best  house,  with  all  the  office  houses  ;  the  implements  of 
husbandry,  his  father's  kettle,  his  axe  for  cutting  wood,  and 
his  knife ;  these  three  last  things  the  father  cannot  give  away 
by  gift,  nor  leave  by  his  last  will  to  any  but  his  youngest  son, 
and  if  they  are  pledged  they  shall  be  redeemed."  It  may  not 
be  out  of  place  here  to  say  that  this  custom  continued  to  exist 
in  Wales  ;  and  on  its  conquest  Edward  I.  ordained,  "  Whereas 
the  custom  is  otherwise  in  Wales  than  England  concerning 
succession  to  an  inheritance,  inasmuch  as  the  inheritance  is 
partible  among  the  heirs-male,  and  from  time  whereof  the 
memory  of  man  is  not  to  the  contrary  hath  been  partible, 
Our  Lord  the  King  will  not  have  such  custom  abrogated,  but 
willeth  that  inheritance  shall  remain  partible  among  like 
heirs  as  it  was  wont  to  be,  with  this  exception  that  bastards 
shall  from  henceforth  not  inherit,  and  also  have  portions  with 
the  lawful  heirs ;  and  if  it  shall  happen  that  any  inheritance 
should  hereafter,  upon  failure  of  heirs-male,  descend  to 
females,  the  lawful  heirs  of  their  ancestors  last  served  thereof. 
We  will,  of  our  .especial  grace,  that  the  same  women  shall 
have  their  portions  thereof,  to  be  assigned  to  them  in  our 
court,  although  this  be  contrary  to  the  custom  of  Wales  before 
used." 

The  land  system  of  Wales,  so  recognised  and  regulated  by 


108      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Edward  I.,  remained  unchanged  until  the  reign  of  the  first 
Tudor  monarch.  Its  existence  raises  the  presumption  that 
the  aboriginal  system  of  landholding  in  England  gave  each 
son  a  share  of  his  father's  land,  and,  if  so,  it  did  not  corre- 
spond with  the  Germanic  system  described  by  Caesar,  nor 
with  the  Tribal  system  of  the  Celts  in  Ireland,  nor  with  the 
Feudal  system  subsequently  introduced. 

The  polity  of  the  Romans,  which  endured  in  Gaul,  Spain, 
and  Italy,  and  tinged  the  laws  and  usages  of  these  countries 
after  they  had  been  occupied  by  the  Goths,  totally  disappeared 
in  England  ;  and  even  Christianity,  which  partially  prevailed 
under  the  Romans,  was  submerged  beneath  the  flood  of 
invasion.  Save  the  material  evidence  of  the  footprints  of  "  the 
masters  of  the  world "  in  the  Roman  roads,  Roman  wall, 
and  some  other  structures,  there  is  no  trace  of  the  Romans  in 
England.  Their  polity,  laws,  and  language  alike  vanished, 
and  did  not  reappear  for  centuries,  when  their  laws-  and  lan- 
guage were  reimported. 

I  should  not  be  disposed  to  estimate  the  population  of 
England  and  Wales,  at  the  retirement  of  the  Romans,  at 
more  that  1,500,000.  They  were  like  a  flock  of  sheep  without 
masters,  and,  deprived  of  the  watch-dogs  which  overawed  and 
protected  them,  fell  an  easy  prey  to  the  invaders. 

III.   THE   SCANDINAVIANS. 

The  Roman  legions  and  the  outlying  semi-military  settle- 
ments along  the  Rhine  and  the  Danube,  forming  a  cordon 
reaching  from  the  German  Ocean  to  the  Black  Sea,  kept 
back  the  tide  of  barbarians,  but  the  volume  of  force 
accumulated  behind  the  barrier,  and  at  length  it  poured 
in  an  overwhelming  and  destructive  tide  over  the  fair  and 
fertile  provinces  whose  weak  and  effeminate  people  offered 
but  a  feeble  resistance  to  the  robust  armies  of  the  north.  The 
Romans,  under  the  instruction  of  Caesar  and  Tacitus,  had  a 
faint  idea  of  the  usages  of  the  people  inhabiting  the  verge 
that  lay  around  the  Roman  dominions,  but  they  had  no 


\ 

THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         109 

knowledge  of  the  influences  that  prevailed  in  "  the  womb  of 
nations,"  as  Central  Europe  appeared  to  the  Latins,  who  saw 
emerging  therefrom  hosts  of  warriors,  bearing  with  them  their 
wives,  their  children,  and  their  portable  effects,  determined  to 
win  a  settlement  amid  the  fertile  regions  owned  and  improved 
by  the  Romans. 

These  incursions  were  not  Colonisation  in  the  sense  in 
which  Rome  understood  it ;  they  were  the  migrations  of  a 
people,  and  were  as  full,  as  complete,  and  as  extensive  as  the 
Israelitish  invasion  of  Canaan — they  were  more  destructive  of 
property,  but  less  fatal  to  life.  These  migratory  hosts  left  a 
desert  behind  them,  and  they  either  gained  a  settlement  or 
perished.  The  Roman  colonies  preserved  their  connection 
with  the  parent  stem,  and  invoked  aid  when  in  need  ;  but  the 
barbarian  hosts  had  no  home,  no  reserves.  Other  races,  moving 
with  similar  intent,  settled  on  the  land  they  had  vacated. 
These  brought  their  own  social  arrangements,  and  it  is  very 
difficult  to  connect  the  land  system  established  by  the  abori- 
gines with  the  system  which,  after  a  lapse  of  some  hundreds  of 
years,  was  found  to  prevail  in  another  tribe  or  nation  which 
had  occupied  the  region  that  had  been  vacated. 

Neither  Caesar  nor  Tacitus  give  us  any  idea  of  the  habits 
or  usages  of  the  people  who  lived  north  of  the  Belgae.  They 
had  no  notion  of  Scandinavia  nor  of  Sclavonia.  The  Wal- 
halla  of  the  north,  with  its  terrific  deities,  was  unknown  to 
them  ;  and  I  am  disposed  to  think  that  we  shall  look  in  vain 
among  the  customs  of  the  Teutons  for  the  basis  from  whence 
came  the  polity  established  in  England  by  the  invaders  of  the 
fifth  century.  The  Anglo-Saxons  came  from  a  region  north 
of  the  Elbe,  which  we  call  Schleswig-Holstein.  They  were 
kindred  to  the  Norwegians  and  the  Danes,  and  of  the  family 
of  the  sea  robbers  ;  they  were  not  Teutons,  for  the  Teutons 
were  not  and  are  not  sailors.  The  Belgae  colonised  part  of 
the  coast — i.e.,  the  settlers  maintained  a  connection  with  the 
mainland  ;  but  the  Angles,  the  Saxons,  and  the  Jutes  did  not 
colonise,  they  migrated  ;  they  left  no  trace  of  their  occupancy 
in  the  lands  they  vacated.  Each  separate  invasion  was  the 


l\ 


110      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

settlement  of  a  district ;  each  leader  aspired  to  sovereignty, 
and  was  supreme  in  his  own  domains  ;  each  claimed  descent 
from  Woden,  and,  like  Romulus  or  Alexander,  sought 
affinity  with  the  gods.  Each  member  of  the  Heptarchy  was 
independent  of,  and  owed  no  allegiance  to,  the  other  mem- 
bers; and  marriage  or  conquest  united  them  ultimately  into 
one  kingdom. 

The  primary  institutions  were  moulded  by  time  and  cir- 
cumstance, and  the  state  of  things  in  the  eleventh  century 
was  as  different  from  that  of  the  fifth  as  those  of  our  own 
time  differ  from  the  rule  of  Richard  II.  Yet  one  was  as  much 
an  outgrowth  of  its  predecessor  as  the  other. 

Attempts  have  been  made,  with  considerable  ingenuity,  to 
connect  races  with  each  other  by  peculiar  characteristics,  but 
human  society  has  the  same  necessities,  and  we  find  great 
similarity  in  various  divisions  of  society.  At  all  times,  and  in 
all  nations,  society  resolved  itself  into  the  upper,  middle,  and 
lower  classes.  Rome  had  its  Nobles,  Plebeians,  and  Slaves  ; 
Germany  its  Edhilingi,  Frilingi,  and  Lazzi ;  England  its 
Eaorls,  Thanes,  and  Ceorls.  It  would  be  equally  cogent  to 
argue  that,  because  Rome  had  three  classes,  and  England  had 
three  classes,  the  latter  was  derived  from  the  former,  as  to 
conclude  that,  because  Germany  had  three  classes,  therefore 
English  institutions  were  Teutonic.  If  the  invasion  of  the 
fifth  century  were  Teutonic,  we  should  look  for  similar  nomen- 
clature, but  there  is  as  great  a  dissimilarity  between  the 
English  and  German  names  of  the  classes  as  between  the 
former  and  those  of  Rome. 

The  Germanic  mark  system  has  no  counterpart  in  the 
land  system  introduced  into  England  by  the  Anglo-Saxons. 
If  village  communities  existed  in  England,  it  must  have  been 
before  the  invasion  of  the  Romans.  The  German  system,  as 
described  by  Caesar,  was  suited  to  nomads — to  races  on  the 
wing,  who  gave  to  no  individual  possession  for  more  than  a 
year,  that  there  might J^je.  no  home  ties.  The  mark  system  is 
of  a  later  date,  and  was  evidently  the  arrangement  of  other 
races  who  permanently  settled  themselves  upon  the  lands 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         Ill 

vacated  by  the  older  nations.  And  I  may  suggest  whether, 
as  these  lands  were  originally  inhabited  by  the  Celts,  the  con- 
querors did  not  adopt  the  system  of  the  conquered. 

Even  in  the  nomenclature  of  Feudalism  introduced  into 
England  in  the  fifth  century,  we  are  driven  back  to  Scandi- 
navia for  an  explanation.  The  word  feudal  as  applied  to 
land,  has  a  Norwegian  origin,  from  which  country  came  Rollo, 
the  progenitor  of  William  the  Norman.  Pontoppidan  ("  His- 
tory of  Norway,"  p.  290)  says,  "  The  Odhall,  right  of  Norway, 
and  the  Udall,  right  of  Finland,  came  from  the  words  '  Odh,' 
which  signifies  proprietors,  and  'all,'  which  means  totum.  A 
transposition  of  these  syllables  makes  all  odh,  or  allodium, 
which  means  absolute  property.  Fee,  which  means  stipend  or 
pay,  united  with  oth,  thus  forming  Fee-oth  or  Feodum,  denoting 
stipendiary  property."  Wacterus  states  that  the  word  allode, 
allodium,  which  applies  to  land  in  Germany,  is  composed  of_an 
and  lot — i.e.,  land  obtained  by  lot. 

I  therefore  venture  the  opinion  that  the  settlement  of 
England  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries  was  not  Teutonic  or 
Germanic,  but  SCANDINAVIAN. 

The  lands  won  by  the  swords  of  all  were  the  common  pro- 
perty of  all  ;  they  were  the  lands  of  the  people,  Folc-land ; 
they  were  distributed  by  lot  at  the  Folc-gemot;  they  were  Odh- 
all  lands  ;  they  were  not  held  of  any  superior,  nor  was  there 
any  service  save  that  imposed  by  the  common  danger.  The 
chieftains  were  elected  and  obeyed,  because  they  represented 
the  entire  people.  Hereditary  right  seems  to  have  been 
unknown.  The  essence  of  feudalism  was  a  life  estate,  the  land 
reverted  either  to  the  sovereign  or  to  the  people  upon  the  death 
of  the  occupant.  At  a  later  period  the  monarch  claimed  the 
power  of  confiscating  land,  and  of  giving  it  away  by  charter  or 
deed;  and  hence  arose  the  distinction  between  Folc-land  and 
Boc-land  (the  land  of  the  book  or  charter),  a  distinction  some- 
what similar  to  the  freehold  and  copyhold  tenures  of  the  present 
day.  King  Alfred  the  Great  bequeathed  "  his  Boc-land  to  his 
nearest  relative  ;  and  if  any  of  them  have  children,  it  is  more 
agreeable  to  me  that  it  go  to  those  born  on  the  male  side." 


112      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

He  adds,  "  My  grandfather  bequeathed  his  land  on  the  spear 
side,  not  on  the  spindle  side ;  therefore  if  I  have  given  what 
he  acquired  to  any  on  the  female  side,  let  my  kinsman  make 
compensation." 

The  several  ranks  were  thus  defined  by  Athelstane : 

"  ist.  It  was  whilom  in  the  laws  of  the  English  that  the  people 
went  by  ranks,  and  these  were  the  counsellors  of  the  nation,  of 
worship  worthy  each  according  to  his  condition  —  'eorl,'  'ceorl,' 
'  thegur,'  and  '  theodia.' 

"  2d.  If  a  ceorl  thrived,  so  that  he  had  fully  five  hides  (600  acres) 
of  land,  church  and  kitchen,  bell-house  and  back  gatescal,  and 
special  duty  in  the  king's  hall,  then  he  was  thenceforth  of  thane-right 
worthy. 

"  3d.  And  if  a  thane  thrived  so  that  he  served  the  king,  and  on  his 
summons  rode  among  his  household,  if  he  then  had  a  thane  who  him 
followed,  who  to  the  king  utward  five  hides,  had,  and  in  the  king's  hall 
served  his  lord,  and  thence,  with  his  errand,  went  to  the  king,  he  might 
thenceforth,  with  his  fore  oath,  his  lord  represent  at  various  needs, 
and  his  and  his  plant  lawfully  conduct  wheresoever  he  ought. 

"  4th,  And  he  who  so  prosperous  a  vicegerent  had  not,  swore  for 
himself  according  to  his  right  or  it  forfeited. 

"  5th.  And  if  a  '  thane  '  thrived  so  that  he  became  an  eorl,  then  was 
he  thenceforth  of  eorl-right  worthy. 

"  6th.  And  if  a  merchant  thrived  so  that  he  fared  thrice  over  the 
wide  sea  by  his  own  means  (or  vessels),  then  was  he  thenceforth  of 
thane-right  worthy." 

The  oath  of  fealty,  as  prescribed  by  the  law  of  Edward  and 
Guthrum,  was  very  similar  to  that  used  at  a  later  period,  and 
ran  thus  : 

"  Thus  shall  a  man  swear  fealty  :  By  the  Lord,  before  whom  this 
relic  is  holy,  I  will  be  faithful  and  true,  and  love  all  that  he  loves, 
and  shun  all  that  he  shuns,  according  to  God's  law,  and  according  to 
the  world's  principles,  and  never  by  will  nor  by  force,  by  word  nor 
by  work,  do  aught  of  what  is  loathful  to  him,  on  condition  that  he 
me  keep,  as  I  am  willing  to  deserve,  and  all  that  fulfil,  that  our 
agreement  was,  when  I  to  him  submitted  and  chose  his  will." 

The  Odh-all  (noble)  land  was  divided  into  two  classes :  the 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         113 

in-lands,  which  were  farmed  by  slaves  under  Bailiffs,  and  the 
out-lands,  which  were  let  to  ceorls  either  for  one  year  or  for  a 
term.  The  rents  were  usually  paid  in  kind,  and  were  a  fixed 
proportion  of  the  produce.  Ina,  King  of  the  West  Saxons, 
fixed  the  rent  of  ten  hides  (1200  acres),  in  the  beginning 
of  the  eighth  century,  as  follows  :  10  casks  honey,  12  casks 
strong  ale,  30  casks  small  ale,  300  loaves  bread,  2  oxen,  10 
wedders,  10  geese,  20  hens,  10  chickens,  10  cheeses,  I  cask 
butter,  5  salmon,  20  Ibs.  forage,  and  100  eels.  In  the  reign  of 
Edgar  the  Peaceable  (tenth  century),  land  was  sold  for  about 
four  shillings  of  our  present  money  per  acre.  The  Abbot  of 
Ely  bought  an  estate  about  this  time,  which  was  paid  for  at 
the  rate  of  four  sheep  or  one  horse  for  each  acre. 

The  freemen  (Liberi  Homines]  were  a  very  numerous  class, 
and  all  were  trained  in  the  use  of  arms.  Their  Folc-land  was 
held  under  the  penalty  of  forfeiture  if  they  did  not  take  the 
field,  whenever  required,  for  the  defence  of  the  country.  In 
addition,  a  tax,  called  Danegeld,  was  levied  at  a  rate  varying 
from  two  shillings  to  seven  shillings  per  hide  of  land  (120 
acres);  and  in  1008,  each  owner  of  a  large  estate,  310  hides, 
was  called  on  to  furnish  a  ship  for  the  navy. 

Selden  ("  Laws  and  Government  of  England,"  p.  34),  thus 
describes  the  freemen  among  the  Saxons,  previous  to  the 
Conquest : 

"  The  next  and  most  considerable  degree  of  all  the  people  is  that 
of  the  Freemen,  anciently  called  Frilingi*  or  Free-born,  or  such  as  are 
born  free  from  all  yoke  of  arbitrary  power,  and  from  all  law  of  com- 
pulsion, other  than  what  is  made  by  their  voluntary  consent,  for  all 
freemen  have  votes  in  the  making  and  executing  of  the  general  laws 
of  the  kingdom.  In  the  first,  they  differed  from  the  Gauls,  of  whom  it 
is  noted  that  the  commons  are  never  called  to  council,  nor  are  much 
better  than  servants.  In  the  second,  they  differ  from  many  free 
people,  and  are  a  degree  more  excellent,  being  adjoined  to  the 
lords  in  judicature,  both  by  advice  and  power  (consilium  et 
authoritates  adsunf),  and  therefore  those  that  were  elected  to  that 
work  were  called  Comitas  ex  plebe,  and  made  one  rank  of  Freemen 

*  This  is  a  Teutonic,  not  an  Anglo-Saxon  term,  the  Anglo-Saxon  word  is  Thane. 

H 


114     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

for  wisdom  superior  to  the  rest.  Another  degree  of  these  were 
beholden  for  their  riches,  and  were  called  Custodes  Pagani,  an 
honourable  title  belonging  to  military  service,  and  these  were  such 
as  had  obtained  an  estate  of  such  value  as  that  their  ordinary  arms 
were  a  helmet,  a  coat  of  mail,  and  a  gilt  sword.  The  rest  of  the 
freemen  were  contented  with  the  name  of  Ceorls,  and  had  as  sure 
a  title  to  their  own  liberties  as  the  Custodes  Pagani  or  the  country 
gentlemen  had." 

Land  was  liable  to  be  seized  upon  for  treason  and  forfeited  ; 
but  even  after  the  monarchs  had  assumed  the  functions  of  the 
Folc-gemot,  they  were  not  allowed  to  give  land  away  without 
the  approval  of  the  great  men ;  charters  were  consented  to  and 
witnessed  in  council.  "  There  is  scarcely  a  charter  extant," 
says  Chief  Baron  Gilbert,  "  that  is  not  proof  of  this  right." 
The  grant  of  Baldred,  King  of  Kent,  of  the  manor  of  Mailing, 
in  Sussex,  was  annulled  because  it  was  given  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  council.  The  subsequent  gift  thereof,  by  Egbert 
and  Athelwolf,  was  made  with  the  concurrence  and  assent  of 
the  great  men.  The  kings'  charters  of  escheated  lands,  to  which 
they  had  succeeded  by  a  personal  right,  usually  declared  "that 
it  might  be  known  that  what  they  gave  was  their  own." 

Discussions  have  at  various  times  taken  place  upon  the 
question,  "Was  the  land-system  of  this  period  feudal?"  It 
engaged  the  attention  of  the  Irish  Court  of  King's  Bench,  in 
the  reign  of  Charles  I.,  and  was  raised  in  this  way  :  James  I. 
had  issued  "  a  commission  of  defective  titles."  Any  Irish 
owner,  upon  surrendering  his  land  to  the  king,  got  a  patent 
which  reconvened  it  on  him.  Wentworth  (Lord  Stafford) 
wished  to  settle  Connaught,  as  Ulster  had  been  settled  in 
the  preceding  reign,  and,  to  accomplish  it,  tried  to  break  the 
titles  granted  under  "  the  commission  of  defective  titles." 
Lord  Dillon's  case,  which  is  still  quoted  as  an  authority,  was 
tried.  The  plea  for  the  Crown  alleged,  that  the  honour  of 
the  monarch  stood  before  his  profit,  and  as  the  commissioners 
were  only  authorised  to  issue  patents  to  hold  in  capitc, 
whereas  they  had  given  title  "  to  hold  in  capite,  by  knights' 
service  out  of  Dublin  Castle,"  the  grant  was  bad.  In  the  course 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         115 

of  the  argument,  the  existence  of  feudal  tenures,  before  the 
landing  of  William  of  Normandy,  was  discussed,  and  Sir  Henry 
Spelman's  views,  as  expressed  in  the  Glossary,  were  considered. 
The  Court  unanimously  decided  that  feudalism  existed  in 

-_  "        — ••'-  •  -« —  ^ 

"England  under  the  Anglo-Saxons,  and  it  affirmed  that  Sir 
'Henry  Spelman  was  wrong.  This  decision  led  Sir  Henry 
Spelman  to  write  his  "  Treatise  on  Feuds,"  which  was  pub- 
lished after  his  death,  in  which  he  re-asserted  the  opinion 
that  feudalism  was  introduced  into  England  at  the  Norman 
invasion.  This  decision  must,  however,  be  accepted  with 
a  limitation  ;  I  think  there  was  no  separate  order  of  nobility 
under  the  Anglo-Saxon  rule.  The  king  had  his  councillors, 
but  there  appears  to  have  been  no  order  between  him  and  the 
Folc-gemot.  The  Earls  and  the  Thanes  met  with  the  people, 
but  did  not  form  a  separate  body.  The  Thanes  were  country 
gentlemen,  not  senators.  The  outcome  of  the  heptarchy  was 
the  Earls  or  Ealdermen  ;  this  was  the  only  order  of  nobility 
among  the  Saxons ;  they  corresponded  to  the  position  of 
lieutenants  of  counties,  and  were  appointed  for  life.  In  1045 
there  were  nine  such  officers ;  in  1065  there  were  but  six. 
Harold's  earldom,  at  the  former  date,  comprised  Norfolk, 
Suffolk,  Essex,  and  Middlesex  ;  and  Godwin's  took  in  the 
whole  south  coast  from  Sandwich  to  the  Land's  End,  and 
included  Kent,  Sussex,  Hampshire,  Wilts,  Devonshire,  and 
Cornwall.  Upon  the  death  of  Godwin,  Harold  resigned  his 
earldom,  and  took  that  of  Godwin,  the  bounds  being  slightly 
varied.  Harold  retained  his  earldom  after  he  became  king, 
but  on  his  death  it  was  seized  upon  by  the  Conqueror,  and 
divided  among  his  followers. 

The  Crown  relied  upon  the  Libert  Homines  or  freemen. 
The  country  was  not  studded  with  castles  filled  with  armed 
men.     The  House  of  the  Thane  was  an  unfortified  structure, 
and  while  the  laws  relating  to  land  were,  in  my  view,  essenti-  f 
ally  feudal,  the  government  was  different  from  that  to  which  / 
we  apply  the  term  feudalism,  which  appears  to  imply  baronial 
castles,  armed  men,  and  an  oppressed  people. 

I  venture  to  suggest  to  some  modern  writers  that  further 


116      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

inquiry  will  show  them  that  Folc-landvi3&  not  confined  to  com- 
monages, or  unallotted  portions,  but  that  at  the  beginning  it 
comprised  all  the  land  of  the  kingdom,  and  that  the  occupant 
did  not  enjoy  it  as  owner-in-severalty  ;  he  had  a  good  title 
against  his  fellow  subjects,  but  he  held  under  the  Folc-gemot, 
and  was  subject  to  conditions.  The  consolidation  of  the 
sovereignty,  the  extension  of  laws  of  forfeiture,  the  assump- 
tion by  the  kings  of  the  rights  of  the  popular  assemblies,  all 
tended  to  the  formation  of  a  second  set  of  titles,  and  hoc-land 
became  an  object  of  ambition.  The  same  individual  appears 
to  have  held  land  by  both  titles,  and  to  have  had  greater 
powers  over  the  latter  than  over  the  former. 

Many  of  those  who  have  written  on  the  subject  seem  to  me 
to  have  failed  to  grasp  either  the  object  or  the  genius  of  FEU- 
DALISM. It  was  the  device  of  conquerors  to  maintain  their 
possessions,  and  is  not  to  be  found  amongst  nations,  the 
original  occupiers  of  the  land,  nor  in  the  conquests  of  states, 
which  maintained  standing  armies.  The  invading  hosts 
elected  their  chieftain,  they  and  he  had  only  a  life  use  of  the 
conquests.  Upon  the  death  of  one  leader  another  was  elected, 
so  upon  the  death  of  the  allottee  of  a  piece  of  land  it  reverted 
to  the  State.  T\it  genius  of  FEUDALISM  was  life  ownership  and 
non-partition.  Hence  the  oath  of  fealty  was  a  personal  obliga- 
tion, and  investiture  was  needful  before  the  new  feudee  took 
possession.  The  State,  as  represented  by  the  king  or  chieftain, 
while  allowing  the  claim  of  the  family,  exercised  its  right  to 
select  the  individual.  All  the  lands  were  considered  Beneficia, 
a  word  which  now  means  a  charge  upon  land,  to  compensate 
for  duties  rendered  to  the  State.  Under  this  system,  the 
feudatory  was  a  commander,  his  residence  a  barrack,  his  tenants 
soldiers ;  it  was  his  duty  to  keep  down  the  aborigines,  and  to 
prevent  invasion.  He  could  neither  sell,  give,  nor  bequeath 
his  land.  He  received  the  surplus  revenue  as  payment  for 
personal  service,  and  thus  enjoyed  his  benefice.  Judged  in 
this  way,  I  think  the  feudal  system  existed  before  the  Nor- 
man Conquest.  Slavery  and  serfdom  undoubtedly  prevailed. 
Under  the  Scandinavians,  the  country  prospered  ;  and,  from 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         117 

the  great  abundance  of  corn,  William  of  Poitiers  calls  Eng- 
land "  the  store-house  of  Ceres." 


IV.   THE   NORMANS. 

The  invasion  of  William  of  Normandy  led  to  results  which 
have  been  represented  by  some  writers  as  having  been  the  most 
momentous  in  English  history.  I  do  not  wish  in  any  way  to 
depreciate  their  views,  but  it  seems  to  me  not  to  have  been 
so  disastrous  to  existing  institutions,  as  the  Scandinavian  in- 
vasion, which  completely  submerged  all  former  usages.  No 
trace  of  Roman  occupation  survived  the  advent  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  ;  the  population  was  reduced  to  and  remained  in  the 
position  of  serfs,  whereas  the  Norman  invasion  preserved  the 
existing  institutions  of  the  nation,  and  subsequent  changes 
were  an  outgrowth  thereof. 

When  Edward  the  Confessor,  the  last  descendant  of  Cedric, 
was  on  his  deathbed,  he  declared  Harold  to  be  his  successor, 
but  William  of  Normandy  claimed  the  throne  under  a  previous 
will  of  the  same  monarch.  He  asked  for  the  assistance  of  his 
own  nobles  and  people  in  the  enterprise,  but  they  refused  at 
first  on  the  ground  that  their  feudal  compact  only  required  them 
to  join  in  the  defence  of  their  country,  and  did  not  coerce 
them  into  affording  him  aid  in  a  completely  new  enterprise ; 
and  it  was  only  by  promising  to  compensate  them  out  of  the 
spoils  that  he  could  secure  their  co-operation.  A  list  of  the 
number  of  ships  supplied  by  each  Norman  chieftain  appears 
in  Lord  Lyttleton's  "  History  of  Henry  III.,"  vol.  i.,  appendix. 

I  need  hardly  remind  you  that  the  settlers  in  Normandy 
were  from  Norway,  or  that  they  had  been  expelled  from  their 
native  land  in  consequence  of  their  efforts  to  subvert  its  insti- 
tutions, and  to  make  the  descent  of  land,  hereditary,  instead 
of  being  divisible  among  all  the  sons  of  the  former  owner. 
Nor  need  I  relate  how  they  won  and  held  the  fair  provinces 
of  northern  France — whether  as  a  fief  of  the  French  Crown  or 
not,  is  an  open  question.  But  I  should  wish  you  to  bear  in 
mind  their  affinity  to  the  Anglo-Saxons,  to  the  Danes,  and  to 


118      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

the  Norwegians,  the  family  of  Sea  Robbers,  whose  ravages 
extended  along  the  coasts  of  Europe  as  far  south  as  Gib- 
raltar and,  as  some  allege,  along  the  Mediterranean.  Some 
questions  have  been  raised  as  to  the  means  of  transport  of 
the  Saxons,  the  Jutes,  and  the  Angles,  but  they  were  fully  as 
extensive  as  those  by  which  Rollo  invaded  France  or  William 
invaded  England. 

William  strengthened  his  claim  to  the  throne  by  his  mili- 
tary success,  and  by  a  form  of  election,  for  which  there  were 
many  previous  precedents.  Those  who  called  upon  him  to 
ascend  it,  alleged  "  that  they  had  always  been  ruled  by  legal 
power,  and  desired  to  follow  in  that  respect  the  example  of 
their  ancestors,  and  they  knew  of  no  one  more  worthy  than 
himself  to  hold  the  reigns  of  government." 

His  alleged  title  to  the  crown,  sanctioned  by  success  and 
confirmed  by  election,  enabled  him,  in  conformity  with  exist- 
ing institutions,  to  seize  upon  the  lands  of  Harold  and  his 
adherents,  and  to  grant  them  as  rewards  to  his  followers.  Such 
confiscation  and  gifts  were  entirely  in  accord  with  existing 
usages,  and  the  great  alteration  which  took  place  in  the 
principal  fiefs,  was  more  a  change  of  persons  than  of  law.  A 
large  body  of  the  aboriginal  people  had  been,  and  continued 
to  be,  serfs  or  villeins ;  while  the  mass  of  the  freemen  (Liberi 
Homines)  remained  in  possession  of  their  holdings. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  here  to  say  a  few  words  about 
this  important  class,  which  is  in  reality  the  backbone  of  the 
British  constitution ;  it  was  the  mainstay  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
monarchy ;  it  lost  its  influence  during  the  civil  wars  of  the 
Plantagenets,  but  reasserted  its  power  under  Cromwell.  Dr 
Robertson  thus  draws  the  line  between  them  and  the  vas- 
sals : 

"  In  the  same  manner  Liber  homo  is  commonly  opposed  to  Vassus 
or  Vassalus,  the  former  denoting  an  allodial  proprietor,  the  latter 
one  who  held  of  a  superior.  These  freemen  were  under  an  obliga- 
tion to  serve  the  state,  and  this  duty  was  considered  so  sacred  that 
freemen  were  prohibited  from  entering  into  holy  orders,  unless  they 
obtained  the  consent  of  the  sovereign." 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         119 

De  Lolme,  chap,  i.,  sec.  5,  says  : 

"  The  Liber  homo,  or  freeman,  has  existed  in  this  country  from  the 
earliest  periods,  as  well  as  of  authentic  as  of  traditionary  history, 
entitled  to  that  station  in  society  as  one  of  his  constitutional  rights, 
as  being  descended  from  free  parents  in  contradistinction  to  "  villains," 
which  should  be  borne  in  remembrance,  because  the  term  "freeman" 
has  been,  in  modern  times,  perverted  from  its  constitutional  significa- 
tion without  any  statutable  authority." 

The  Liberi  Homines  are  so  described  in  the  Doomsday 
Book.  They  were  the  only  men  of  honour,  faith,  trust,  and 
reputation  in  the  kingdom  ;  and  from  among  such  of  these  as 
were  not  barons,  the  knights  did  choose  jurymen,  served  on 
juries  themselves,  bare  offices,  and  despatched  country  busi- 
ness. Many  of  the  Liberi  Homines  held  of  the  king  in  capite, 
and  several  were  freeholders  of  other  persons  in  military 
service.  Their  rights  were  recognised  and  guarded  by  the 
55th  William  I. ;  *  it  is  entitled  : 

"CONCERNING  CHEUTILAR  OR  FEUDAL  RIGHTS,  AND  THE 

IMMUNITY  OF  FREEMEN. 

"  We  will  also,  and  strictly,  enjoin  and  concede  that  all  freemen 
(Liberi  Homines)  of  our  whole  kingdom  aforesaid,  have  and  hold 
their  land  and  possessions  well  and  in  peace,  free  from  every  unjust 
exaction  and  from  Tallage,  so  that  nothing  be  exacted  or  taken  from 
them  except  their  free  service,  which  of  right  they  ought  to  do  to  us 
and  are  bound  to  do,  and  according  as  it  was  appointed  (statutuni)  to 
them,  and  given  to  them  by  us,  and  conceded  by  hereditary  right  for 
ever,  by  the  common  council  (Folc-gemof)  of  our  whole  realm  aforesaid." 

These  freemen  were  not  created  by  the  Norman  Conquest, 
They  existed  prior  thereto  ;  and  the  laws,  of  which  this  is  one, 

*  "LV. — De  Chartilari  seu  Feudorum  jure  et  Ingenuorum  immunitate.  Volume 
etiam  ac  firmiter  praecipimus  et  concedimus  ut  omnes  liberi  homines  totius 
Monarchic  regni  nostri  prsedicti  habeant  e£  teneant  terras  suas  et  possessiones 
suas  bene  et  in  paci,  liberi  ab  omni.  Exactione  iniusta  et  ab  omni  Tallagio  :  Ita 
quod  nihil  ab  eis  exigatur  vel  capiatur  nisi  seruicum  suum  liberum  quod  de  iure 
nobis  facere  debent  et  facere  tenentur  et  prout  statutum  est  eis  et  illis  a  nobis 
datum  et  concessum  iure  hsereditario  imperpetuum  per  commune  consilium  totius 
regni  nostri  prsedicti." 


120      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

are  declared  to  be  the  laws  of  Edward  the  Confessor,  which 
William  re-enacted.  Selden,  in  "  The  Laws  and  Government 
of  England,"  p.  34,  speaks  of  this  law  as  the  first  Magna 
Charta.  He  says  : 

"  Lastly,  the  one  law  of  the  kings,  which  may  be  called  the  first 
Magna  Charta  in  the  Norman  times  (55  William  I.),  by  which  the  king 
reserved  to  himself,  from  the  freemen  of  this  kingdom,  nothing  but 
their  free  service,  in  the  conclusion  saith  that  their  lands  were  thus 
granted  to  them  in  inheritance  of  the  king  by  the  Common  Council  (Folc- 
gemof)  of  the  whole  kingdom  ;  and  so  asserts,  in  one  sentence,  the  lib- 
erty of  the  freemen,  and  of  the  representative  body  of  the  kingdom." 

He  further  adds : 

"The  freedom  of  an  Englishman  consisteth  of  three  particulars  : 
first,  in  ownership;  second,  in  voting  any  law,  whereby  ownership  is 
maintained ;  and  thirdly,  in  having  an  influence  upon  fat  judiciary 
power  that  must  apply  the  law.  Now  the  English,  under  the 
Normans,  enjoyed  all  this  freedom  with  each  man's  own  particular, 
besides  what  they  had  in  bodies  aggregate.  This  was  the  meaning 
of  the  Normans,  and  they  published  the  same  to  the  world  in  a 
fundamental  law,  whereby  is  granted  that  all  freemen  shall  have  and 
hold  their  lands  and  possessions  in  hereditary  right  for  ever ;  and  by 
this,  they  being  secured  from  forfeiture,  they  are  further  saved  from  all 
wrong  by  the  same  law,  which  provideth  that  they  shall  hold  them 
well  or  quietly,  and  in  peace,  free  from  all  unjust  tax,  and  from  all 
Tallage,  so  as  nothing  shall  be  exacted  nor  taken  but  their  free 
service,  which,  by  right,  they  are  bound  to  perform." 

This  is  expounded  in  the  law  of  Henry  L,  cap.  4,  to  mean 
that  no  tribute  or  tax  shall  be  taken  but  what  was  due  in  the 
Confessor's  time,  and  Edward  II.  was  sworn  to  observe  the 
laws  of  the  Confessor. 

The  nation  was  not  immediately  settled.  Rebellions  arose 
either  from  the  oppression  of  the  invaders,  or  the  restlessness 
of  the  conquered ;  and,  as  each  outburst  was  put  down  by 
force,  there  were  new  lands  to  be  distributed  among  the 
adherents  of  the  monarch ;  ultimately  there  were  about  700 
chief  tenants  holding  in  capite,  but  the  nation  was  divided 
into  60,215  knights'  fees,  of  which  the  Church  held  28,115. 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         121 

The  king  retained  in  his  own  hands  1422  manors,  besides  a  great 
number  of  forests,  parks,  chases,  farms,  and  houses,  in  all  parts 
of  the  kingdom  ;  and  his  followers  received  very  large  holdings. 

Amongst  the  Saxon  families  who  retained  their  land  was 
one  named  Shobington  in  Bucks.  Hearing  that  the  Norman 
lord  was  coming  to  whom  the  estate  had  been  gifted  by  the 
king,  the  head  of  the  house  armed  his  servants  and  tenants, 
preparing  to  do  battle  for  his  rights  ;  he  cast  up  works,  which 
remain  to  this  day  in  grassy  mounds,  marking  the  sward  of 
the  park,  and  established  himself  behind  them  to  await  the 
despoiler's  onset.  It  was  the  period  when  hundreds  of  herds 
of  wild  cattle  roamed  the  forest  lands  of  Britain,  and,  failing 
horses,  the  Shobingtons  collected  a  number  of  bulls,  rode 
forth  on  them,  and  routed  the  Normans,  unused  to  such 
cavalry.  William  heard  of  the  defeat,  and  conceived  a  re- 
spect for  the  brave  man  who  had  caused  it ;  he  sent  a  herald 
with  a  safe  conduct  to  the  chief  Shobington  desiring  to  speak 
with  him.  Not  many  days  after,  came  to  court  eight  stalwart 
men  riding  upon  bulls,  the  father  and  seven  sons.  "  If  thou 
wilt  leave  me  my  lands,  O  king,"  said  the  old  man,  "  I  will 
serve  thee  faithfully  as  I  did  the  dead  Harold."  Whereupon 
the  Conqueror  confirmed  him  in  his  ownership,  and  named 
the  family,  Bullstrode,  instead  of  Shobington. 

Sir  Martin  Wright  in  his  "  Treatise  on  Tenures,"  published 
in  1730,  p.  61,  remarks  : 

"  Though  it  is  true  that  the  possessions  of  the  Normans  were  of  a 
sudden  very  great,  and  that  they  received  most  of  them  from  the 
hands  of  William  I.,  yet  it  does  not  follow  that  the  king  took  all  the 
lands  of  England  out  of  the  hands  of  their  several  owners,  claiming 
them  as  his  spoils  of  war,  or  as  a  parcel  of  a  conquered  country ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  it  appears  pretty  plain  from  the  history  of  those 
times  that  the  king  either  had  or  pretended,  title  to  the  crown,  and 
that  his  title,  real  or  pretended,  was  established  by  the  death  of 
Harold,  which  amounted  to  an  unquestionable  judgment  in  his  favour. 
He  did  not  therefore  treat  his  opposers  as  enemies,  but  as  traitors, 
agreeably  to  the  known  laws  of  the  kingdom,  which  subjected  trai- 
tors not  only  to  the  loss  of  life  but  of  all  their  possessions." 


122      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

He  adds  (p.  63) : 

"  As  William  I.  did  not  claim  to  possess  himself  of  the  lands  of 
England  as  the  spoils  of  conquest,  so  neither  did  he  tyrannically  and 
arbitrarily  subject  them  to  feudal  dependence ;  but,  as  the  feudal  law 
was  at  that  time  the  prevailing  law  of  Europe,  William  I.,  who  had 
always  governed  by  this  policy,  might  probably  recommend  it  to  our 
ancestors  as  the  most  obvious  and  ready  way  to  put  them  upon  a  foot- 
ing with  their  neighbours,  and  to  secure  the  nation  against  any  future 
attempts  from  them.  We  accordingly  find  among  the  laws  of 
William  I.,  a  law  enacting  feudal  law  itself,  not  eo  nomine,  but  in 
effect,  inasmuch  as  it  requires  from  all  persons  the  same  engage- 
ments to,  and  introduces  the  same  dependence  upon,  the  king  as 
supreme  lord  of  all  the  lands  of  England,  as  were  supposed  to  be 
due  to  a  supreme  lord  by  the  feudal  law.  The  law  I  mean  is  the 
LII.  law  of  William  I." 

This  view  is  adopted  by  Sir  William  Blackstone,  who  writes 
(vol.  ii.,  p.  47) : 

"  From  the  prodigious  slaughter  of  the  English  nobility  at  the 
battle  of  Hastings,  and  the  fruitless  insurrection  of  those  who  survived, 
such  numerous  forfeitures  had  accrued  that  he  (William)  was  able  to 
reward  his  Norman  followers  with  very  large  and  extensive  posses- 
sions, which  gave  a  handle  to  monkish  historians,  and  such  as  have 
implicitly  followed  them,  to  represent  him  as  having,  by  the  right  of 
t]>€  sword,  seized  upon  all  the  lands  of  England,  and  dealt  them  out 
'again  to  his  own  favourites — a  supposition  grounded  upon  a  mistaken 
sense  of  the  word  conquest,  which  in  its  feudal  acceptation  signifies 
no  more  than  acquisition,  and  this  has  led  many  hasty  writers  into  a 
strange  historical  mistake,  and  one  which,  upon  the  slightest  exami- 
nation, will  be  found  to  be  most  untrue. 

"We  learn  from  a  Saxon  chronicle  (A.D.  1085),  that  in  the  nine- 
teenth year  of  King  William's  reign,  an  invasion  was  apprehended 
from  Denmark ;  and  the  military  constitution  of  the  Saxons  being 
then  laid  aside,  and  no  other  introduced  in  its  stead,  the  kingdom 
was  wholly  defenceless ;  which  occasioned  the  king  to  bring  over  a 
large  army  of  Normans  and  Britons,  who  were  quartered  upon,  and 
greatly  oppressed,  the  people.  This  apparent  weakness,  together 
with  the  grievances  occasioned  by  a  foreign  force,  might  co-operate 
with  the  king's  remonstrance,  and  better  incline  the  nobility  to  listen 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         123 

to  his  proposals  for  putting  them  in  a  position  of  defence.  For,  as 
soon  as  the  danger  was  over,  the  king  held  a  great  council  to  inquire 
into  the  state  of  the  nation,  the  immediate  consequence  of  which 
was  the  compiling  of  the  great  survey  called  the  Doomsday  Book, 
which  was  finished  the  next  year ;  and  in  the  end  of  that  very  year 
(1086)  the  king  was  attended  by  all  his  nobility  at  Sarum,  where  the 
principal  landholders  submitted  their  lands  to  the  yoke  of  military 
tenure,  and  became  the  king's  vassals,  and  did  homage  and  fealty  to 
his  person." 

Mr  Henry  Hallam  writes  : 

"  One  innovation  made  by  William  upon  the  feudal  law  is  very- 
deserving  of  attention.  By  the  leading  principle  of  feuds,  an  oath  of 
fealty  was  due  from  the  vassal  to  the  lord  of  whom  he  immediately 
held  the  land,  and  no  other.  The  king  of  France  long  after  this 
period  had  no  feudal,  and  scarcely  any  royal,  authority  over  the 
tenants  of  his  own  vassals ;  but  William  received  at  Salisbury,  in 
1085,  the  fealty  of  all  landholders  in  England,  both  those  who  held 
in  chief  and  their  tenants,  thus  breaking  in  upon  the  feudal  compact 
in  its  most  essential  attribute — the  exclusive  dependence  of  a  vassal 
upon  his  lord ;  and  this  may  be  reckoned  among  the  several  causes 
which  prevented  the  Continental  notions  of  independence  upon  the 
Crown  from  ever  taking  root  among  the  English  aristocracy." 

A  more  recent  writer,  Mr  Freeman  ("  History  of  the  Norman 
Conquest,"  published  in  1871,  vol.  iv.,  p.  695),  repeats  the  same 
idea,  though  not  exactly  in  the  same  words.  After  describing 
the  assemblage  which  encamped  in  the  plains  around  Salis- 
bury, he  says : 

"  In  this  great  meeting  a  decree  was  passed,  which  is  one  of  the 
most  memorable  pieces  of  legislation  in  the  whole  history  of  England. 
In  other  lands  where  military  tenure  existed,  it  was  beginning  to  be 
held  that  he  who  plighted  his  faith  to  a/ lord,  who  was  the  man  of  the 
king,  was  the  man  of  that  lord  only,  and  did  not  become  the  man  of 
the  king  himself.  It  was  beginning  to  be  held  that  if  such  a  man 
followed  his  immediate  lord  to  battle  against  the  common  sovereign, 
the  lord  might  draw  on  himself  the  guilt  of  treason,  but  the  men  that 
followed  him  would  be  guiltless.  William  himself  would  have  been 
amazed  if  any  vassal  of  his  had  refused  to  draw  his  sword  in  a  war 


124      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

with  France  on  the  score  of  duty  towards  an  over-lord.  But  in 
England  at  all  events,  William  was  determined  to  be  full  king  over 
the  whole  land,  to  be  immediate  sovereign  and  immediate  lord  of 
every  man.  A  statute  was  passed  that  every  freeman  in  the  realm 
should  take  the  oath  of  fealty  to  King  William." 

Mr  Freeman  quotes  Stubbs's  "  Select  Charters,"  p.  80,  as  his 
authority.  Stubbs  gives  the  text  of  that  charter,  with  ten 
others.  He  says  :  "  These  charters  are  from  '  Textus  Roffen- 
sis/  a  manuscript  written  during  the  reign  of  Henry  I. ;  it 
contains  the  sum  and  substance  of  all  the  legal  enactments 
made  by  the  Conqueror  independent  of  his  confirmation  of 
the  earlier  laws."  It  is  as  follows :  "  Statuimus  etiam  ut 
omnis  liber  homo  feodere  et  sacramento  affirmet,  quod  intra  et 
extra  Angliam  Willelmo  regi  fideles  esse  volunt,  terras  et 
honorem  illius  oinni  fidelitate  cum  eo  servare  et  ante  eum 
contra  inimicos  defendere." 

It  will  be  perceived  that  Mr  Hallam  reads  Liber  Jiomo 
as  "  vassals."  Mr  Freeman  reads  them  as  "  freemen," 
while  the  older  authority,  Sir  Martin  Wright,  says :  "  I 
have  translated  the  words  Libert  Homines,  '  owners  of 
land,'  because  the  sense  agrees  best  with  the  tenor  of  the 
law." 

The  views  of  writers  of  so  much  eminence  as  Sir  Martin 
Wright,  Sir  William  Blackstone,  Mr  Henry  Hallam,  and  Mr 
Freeman,  are  entitled  to  the  greatest  respect  and  considera- 
tion, and  it  is  with  much  diffidence  I  venture  to  differ  from 
them.  The  three  older  writers  appear  to  have  had  before 
them  the  LI  I.  of  William  I.,  the  latter  the  alleged  charter 
found  in  the  "  Textus  Roffensis  ; "  but  as  they  are  almost 
identical  in  expression,  I  treat  the  latter  as  a  copy  of  the 
former,  and  I  do  not  think  it  bears  out  the  interpretation 
sought  to  be  put  upon  it — that  it  altered  either  the  feudalism 
of  England,  or  the  relation  of  the  vassal  to  his  lord ;  and  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  not  only  did  William  derive  his 
title  to  the  crown  from  Edward  the  Confessor,  but  he  pre- 
served the  apparent  continuity,  and  re-enacted  the  laws  of 
his  predecessor.  Wilkins'  "  Laws  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  and 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         125 

Normans,"  republished  in  1840  by  the  Record  Commissioners, 
gives  the  following  introduction  : 

"  Here  begin  the  laws  of  Edward,  the  glorious  king  of  England. 

"After  the  fourth  year  of  the  succession  to  the  kingdom  of  William 
of  this  land,  that  is  England,  he  ordered  all  the  English  noble  and 
wise  men  and  acquainted  with  the  law,  through  the  whole  country, 
to  be  summoned  before  his  council  of  barons,  in  order  to  be  acquainted 
with  their  customs.  Having  therefore  selected  from  all  the  counties 
twelve,  they  were  sworn  solemnly  to  proceed  as  diligently  as  they 
might  to  write  their  laws  and  customs,  nothing  omitting,  nothing  add- 
ing, and  nothing  changing." 

Then  follow  the  laws,  thirty-nine  in  number,  thus  showing 
the  continuity  of  system,  and  proving  that  William  imposed 
upon  his  Norman  followers  the  laws  of  the  Anglo-Saxons. 
They  do  not  include  the  LII.  William  I.,  to  which  I  shall  refer 
hereafter.  I  may,  however,  observe  that  the  demonstration 
at  Salisbury  was  not  of  a  legislative  character  ;  and  that  it  was 
held  in  conformity  with  Anglo-Saxon  usages.  If,  according 
to  Stubbs,  the  ordinance  was  a  charter,  it  would  proceed  from 
the  king  alone.  The  idea  involved  in  the  statements  of  Sir 
Martin  Wright,  Mr  Hallam,  and  Mr  Freeman,  that  the  vassal 
of  a  lord  was  then  called  on  to  swear  allegiance  to  the  king, 
and  that  it  altered  the  feudal  bond  in  England,  is  not  sup- 
ported by  the  oath  of  vassalage.  In  swearing  fealty,  the 
vassal  knelt,  placed  his  hands  between  those  of  his  lord's,  and 
swore : 

"  I  become  your  man  from  this  day  forward,  of  life  and  limb,  and 
of  earthly  worship,  and  unto  you  shall  be  true  and  faithful,  and  bear 
you  faith  for  the  tenements  at  that  I  claim  to  hold  of 

you,  saving  the  faith  that  I  owe  unto  our  Sovereign  Lord  the  King." 

This  shows  that  it  was  unnecessary  to  call  vassals  to  Salis- 
bury to  swear  allegiance.  The  assemblage  was  of  the  same 
nature  and  character  as  previous  meetings.  It  was  composed 
of  the  Liberi  Homines,  the  freemen,  described  by  the  learned 
John  Selden  (ante,  p.  113),  and  by  Dr  Robertson  and  De 
Lolme  (ante,  pp.  118,  119). 


126      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

But  there  is  evidence  of  a  much  stronger  character,  which 
of  itself  refutes  the  views  of  these  writers,  and  shows  that  the 
Norman  system,  at  least  during  the  reign  of  William  I.,  was  a 
continuation  of  that  existing  previous  to  his  succession  to 
the  throne  ;  and  that  the  meeting  at  Salisbury,  so  graphically 
portrayed,  did  not  affect  that  radical  change  in  the  position 
of  English  landholders  which  has  been  stated.  I  refer  to  the 
works  of  EADMERUS  ;  he  was  a  monk  of  Canterbury  who  was 
appointed  Bishop  of  St  Andrews,  and  declined  or  resigned 
the  appointment  because  the  King  of  Scotland  refused  to 
allow  his  consecration  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 
His  history  includes  the  reigns  of  William  I.,  William  II., 
and  Henry  I.,  from  1066  to  1122,  and  he  gives,  at  page  173, 
the  laws  of  Edward  the  Confessor,  which  William  I.  gave  to 
England  ;  they  number  seventy-one,  including  the  LI  I.  law 
quoted  by  Sir  Martin  Wright.  The  introduction  to  these 
laws  is  in  Latin  and  Norman-French,  and  is  as  follows : 

"  These  are  the  laws  and  customs  which  King  William  granted  to 
the  whole  people  of  England  after  he  had  conquered  the  land,  and 
they  are  those  which  King  Edward  his  predecessor  observed  before 
him."  * 

This  simple  statement  gets  rid  of  the  theory  of  Sir  Martin 
Wright,  of  Sir  William  Blackstone,  of  Mr  Hallam,  and  of  Mr 
Freeman,  that  William  introduced  a  new  system,  and  that  he 

*  The  laws  of  William  are  given  in  a  work  entitled  "Eadmeri  Monachi  Can- 
tuariensis  Historia  Novorum  Sine  Sui  Sseculi."  It  includes  the  reigns  of  Williams 
I.  and  II.,  and  Henry  I.,  from  1066  to  1122,  and  is  edited  by  John  Selden.  Page 
1 73  has  the  following  : 

"Hsec  sunt  Leges  et  Consuetudines  "Cessontles  Leis  et  les  Cu  stums  que 

quas  Willielmus  Rex  concessit  universe  le  Rui  William  granted  a  tut  le  peuple 
Populo  Anglise  post  subactum  Tenour.  de  Engleterre  apres  le  Conquest  de  le 
Esedum  sunt  quas  Edwardus  Rex  cog-  Terre.  Ice  les  meismes  que  le  Rui 
natus  ejus  obseruauit  ante  eum.  Edward  sun  Cosin  tuit  devant  lui. 

"Lit 
"De  fide  et  obsequio  ergu  Regnum. 

"  Statuimus  etiam  ut  omnes  liberi  homines  foedere  et  sacramento  affirment  quod 
intra  et  extra  universum  regnum  Angliae  (quod  olim  vocabatur  regnum  Britanniae) 
Willielmo  suo  domino  fideles  esse  volunt,  terras  et  honores  illius  fidelitate  ubique 
servare  cum  eo  et  contra  inimicos  et  alienigenas  defendere." 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         127 

did  so  either  as  a  new  feudal  law,  or  as  an  amendment  upon 
the  existing  feudalism.  The  LI  I.  law,  quoted  by  Wright,  is 
as  follows  : 

"  We  have  decreed  that  all  free  men  should  affirm  on  oath,  that 
both  within  and  without  the  whole  kingdom  of  England  (which  is 
called  Britain)  they  desire  to  be  faithful  to  William  their  lord,  and 
everywhere  preserve  unto  him  his  land  and  honours  with  fidelity,  and 
defend  them  against  all  enemies  and  strangers." 

Eadmerus,  who  wrote  in  the  reign  of  Henry  I.,  gives  the 
LI  I.  William  I.  as  a  confirmatory  law.  The  charter  given  by 
Stubbs  varies  but  slightly  from  the  law  given  by  Eadmerus. 
The  former  uses  the  words  Omnes  liberi  homines;  the  latter, 
the  words  Omnis  liber  homo.  Those  interested  can  compare 
them,  as  I  give  the  text  of  each. 

Since  the  paper  was  read,  I  have  met  with  the  following 
passage  in  Stubbs's  "  Constitutional  History  of  England,"  vol. 
i.,  p.  265  : 

"  It  has  been  maintained  that  a  formal  and  definitive  act,  forming 
the  initial  point  of  the  feudalisation  of  England,  is  to  be  found  in  a 
clause  of  the  laws,  as  they  are  called,  of  the  Conqueror,  which  directs 
that  every  freeman  shall  affirm,  by  covenant  and  oath,  that  '  he  will 
be  faithful  to  King  William  within  England  and  without,  will  join 
him  in  preserving  his  land  with  all  fidelity,  and  defend  him  against 
his  enemies.'  But  this  injunction  is  little  more  than  the  demand  of 
the  oath  of  allegiance  taken  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  kings,  and  is  here 
required  not  of  every  feudal  dependant  of  the  king,  but  of  every 
freeman  or  freeholder  whatsoever.  In  that  famous  Council  of  Salis- 
bury, A.D.  1086,  which  was  summoned  immediately  after  thelnalrnTg 
of  the  Doomsday  survey,  we  learn,  from  the  '  Chronicle,'  that  there 
cameToTKe  king  '  all  his  witan  and  all  the  landholders  of  substance 
in  England,  whose  vassals  soever  they  were,  and  they  all  submitted 
to  him  and  became  his  men,  and  swore  oaths  of  allegiance  that  they 
would  be  faithful  to  him  against  all  others.'  In  the  act  has  been  seen 
the  formal  acceptance  and  date  of  the  introduction  of  feudalism,  but 
it  has  a  very  different  meaning.  The  oath  described  is  the  oath  of 
allegiance,  combined  with  the  act  of  homage,  and  obtained  from  all 
landowners  whoever  their  feudal  lord  might  be.  It  is  a  measure  of  pre- 


128      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

caution  taken  against  the  disintegrating  power  of  feudalism,  providing 
a  direct  tie  between  the  sovereign  and  all  freeholders  which  no 
inferior  relations  existing  between  them  and  the  mesne  lords  would 
justify  them  in  breaking." 

I  have  already  quoted  from  another  of  Stubbs's  works, 
"  Select  Charters,"  the  charter  which  he  appears  to  have 
discovered  bearing  upon  this  transaction,  and  now  copy  the 
note,  giving  the  authorities  quoted  by  Stubbs,  with  reference 
to  the  above  passage.  He  appears  to  have  overlooked  the 
complete  narration  of  the  alleged  laws  of  William  I.,  given  by 
Eadmerus,  to  which  I  have  referred.  The  note  is  as  follows  : 

"  LI.  William  I.,  §  2,  below  note  ;  see  Hovenden,  ii.,  pref.  p.  5,  seq.y 
where  I  have  attempted  to  prove  the  spuriousness  of  the  document 
called  the  Charter  of  William  I.,  printed  in  the  ancient  '  Laws,'  ed. 
Thorpe,  p.  211.  The  way  in  which  the  regulation  of  the  Conqueror 
here  referred  to  has  been  misunderstood  and  misused  is  curious. 
Lambarde,  in  the  '  Archaionomia,'  p.  1 70,  printed  the  false  charter 
in  which  this  genuine  article  is  incorporated  as  an  appendix  to  the. 
French  version  of  the  Conqueror's  laws,  numbering  the  clauses 
51  to  67 :  from  Lambarde,  the  whole  thing  was  transferred  by 
Wilkins  into  his  collection  of  Anglo-Saxon  laws.  Blackstone's 
'  Commentary,'  ii.  49,  suggested  that  perhaps  the  very  law  (which 
introduced  feudal  tenures)  thus  made  at  the  Council  of  Salisbury  is 
that  which  is  still  extant  and  couched  in  these  remarkable  words,  i.e., 
the  injunction  in  question  referred  to  by  Wilkins,  p.  228.  Ellis, 
in  the  introduction  to  '  Doomsday,'  i.  16,  quotes  Blackstone,  but  adds 
a  reference  to  Wilkins,  without  verifying  Blackstone's  quotation  from 
his  collection  of  laws,  substituting  for  that  work  the  Concilia,  in 
which  the  law  does  not  occur.  Many  modern  writers  have  followed 
him  in  referring  the  enactment  of  the  article  to  the  Council  of 
Salisbury.  It  is  well  to  give  here  the  text  of  both  passages ;  that 
in  the  laws  runs  thus  :  'Statuimus  etiam  ut'omnis  liber  homo  foedere 
et  sacramento  affirmet,  quod  intra  et  extra  Angliam  Willelmo  regi 
fideles  esse  volunt,  terras  et  honorem  illius  omni  fidelitate  eum  eo 
servare  et  ante  eum  contra  inimicos  defendere'  (Select  Charters, 
p.  80).  The  homage  clone  at  Salisbury  is  described  by  Florence 
thus  :  '  Nee  multo  post  mandavit  ut  Archiepiscopi,  episcopi,  abbates, 
comitas  et  barones  et  vicecomitas  cum  suis  militibus  die  Kalendarum 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         1 29 

Augustarem  sibi  occurent  Saresberise  quo  cum  venissent  milites  eorem 
sibi  fidelitatem  contra  omnes  homines  jurare  coegit.'  The  '  Chronicle ' 
is  a  little  more  full :  '  Thse  him  comon  to  his  witan  and  ealle  tha 
Landsittende  men  the  ahtes  waeron  ofer  call  Engleland  waeron  thses 
mannes  men  the  hi  wseron  and  ealle  hi  bugon  to  him  and  waeron  his 
men,  and  him  hold  athas  sworon  thaet  he  woldon  ongean  ealle  other 
men  him  holde  beon." 

Mr  Stubbs  had,  in  degree,  adopted  the  view  at  which  I  had 
arrived,  that  the  law  or  charter  of  William  I.  was  an  injunction 
to  enforce  the  oath  of  allegiance,  previously  ordered  by  the 
laws  of  Edward  the  Confessor,  to  be  taken  by  all  freemen,  and 
that  it  did  not  relate  to  vassals,  or  alter  the  existing  feudalism. 

As  the  subject  possesses  considerable  interest  for  the  general 
reader, as  well  as  the  learned  historian,!  think  it  well  to  place  the 
two  authorities  side  by  side,  that  the  text  may  be  compared  : 

LI  I.  William  /.,  as  given  by  Eadmerus. 

"  De  fide  et  obsequio  ergu  Regnum.  Charter  from  Textus  Roffensis,  given  by 
"Statuimus  etiam    ut    omnes   liberi  Mr  Stubbs. 

homines  foedere  et  sacramento  affirment  "Statuimus  etiam  ut  omnis  liber  homo 

quod  intra  et  extra  universum  regnum  feodere   et  sacramento   affirmet,    quod 

Anglise  (quod  olim  vocabatur  regnum  intra  et  extra  Angliam  Willelmo  regi 

Britannia?)  Willielmo  suo  domino  fideles  fideles  esse  volunt,   terras  et  honorem 

esse    volunt,    terras   et   honores   illius  illius  omni  fidelitate  cum  eo  servare  et 

fidelitate  ubique  servare  cum  eo  et  con-  ante  eum  contra  inimicos  defendere." 
tra  inimicos  et  alienigenas  defendere." 

I  think  the  documents  I  have  quoted  show  that  Sir  Martin 
Wright,  Sir  William  Blackstone,  and  Messrs  Hallam  and 
Freeman,  laboured  under  a  mistake  in  supposing  that  William 
had  introduced  or  imposed  a  new  feudal  law,  or  that  the 
vassals  of  a  lord  swore  allegiance  to  the  king.  The  introduc- 
tion to  the  laws  of  William  I.  shows  that  it  was  not  a  new 
enactment,  or  a  Norman  custom  introduced  into  England,  and 
the  law  itself  proves  that  it  relates  to  freemen,  and  not  to  vassals. 

The  misapprehension  of  these/authors  may  have  arisen  in 
this  way  :  William  I.  had  two  distinct  sets  of  subjects.  The 
NORMANS,  who  had  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance  on  obtaining 
investiture,  and  whose  retinue  included  vassals ;  and  the  ANGLO- 
SAXONS,  among  whom  vassalage  was  unknown,  who  were 


130      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

freemen  (Liberi  Homines)  as  distinguished  from  serfs.  The 
former  comprised  those  in  possession  of  Odhal  (noble)  land, 
whether  held  from  the  Crown  or  its  tenants.  It  was  quite 
unnecessary  to  convoke  the  Normans  and  their  vassals,  while 
the  assemblage  of  the  Saxons — Omnes  Liberi  Homines — was 
not  only  in  conformity  with  the  laws  of  Edward  the  Con- 
fessor, but  was  specially  needful  when  a  foreigner  had  pos- 
sessed himself  of  the  throne. 

I  have  perhaps  dwelt  too  long  upon  this  point,  but  the  error 
to  which  I  have  referred,  has  been  adopted  as  if  it  was  an 
unquestioned  fact,  and  has  passed  into  our  school  books  and 
become  part  of  the  education  given  to  the  young,  and  there- 
fore it  required  some  examination. 

I  believe  that  a  very  large  portion  of  the  land  in  England 
did  not  change  hands  at  that  period,  nor  was  the  position  of 
either  serfs  or  villeins  changed.  The  great  alteration  lay  in 
the  increase  in  the  quantity  of  hoc-land.  Much  of  the  folc- 
land  was  forfeited  and  seized  upon,  and  as  the  king  claimed 
the  right  to  give  it  away,  it  was  called  terra  regis.  The 
charter  granted  by  King  William  to  Alan  Fergent,  Duke  of 
Bretagne,  of  the  lands  and  towns,  and  the  rest  of  the  inherit- 
ance of  Edwin,  Earl  of  Yorkshire,  runs  thus  : 

"  Ego  Gulielmus  cognomine  Bastardus,  Rex  Anglias  do  et  con- 
cede tibi  nepoti  meo  Alano  Brittania  Comiti  et  hseredibus  tuas 
imperpetuum  omnes  villas  et  terras  quae  nuper  fuerent  Comitas  Edwini 
in  Eborashina  cum  feodis  militia  et  aliis  liberatibus  et  consuetudinibus 
ita  liberie  et  honorifice  sicut  idem  Edwiniis  eadem  tenuit 

"  Data  obsidione  coram  civitate  Eboraci." 

This  charter  does  not  create  a  different  title,  but  gives  the 
lands  as  held  by  the  former  possessor.  The  monarch  as- 
sumed the  function  of  the  folc-gemot,  but  the  principle  re- 
mained— the  feudee  only  became  tenant  for  life.  Each  estate 
reverted  to  the  Crown  on  the  death  of  him  who  held  it ;  but, 
previous  to  acquiring  possession,  the  new  tenant  had  to  cease 
to  be  his  own  "  man,"  and  became  the  "  man  "  of  his  superior. 
This  act  was  called  "  homage,"  and  was  followed  by  "  investi- 
ture." In  A.D.  11/5,  Prince  Henry  refused  to  trust  himself 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         131 

with  his  father  till  his  homage  had  been  renewed  and  accepted, 
for  it  bound  the  superior  to  protect  the  inferior.  The  process 
is  thus  described  by  De  Lolme  (chap.  ii.,  sec.  i) : 

"  On  the  death  of  the  ancestor,  lands  holden  by  "  knight's  service  " 
and  by  "  grand  sergeantcy,"  were,  upon  inquisition  finding  the  tenure 
and  the  death  of  the  ancestor,  seized  into  the  king's  hands.  If  the 
heir  appeared  by  the  inquisition  to  be  within  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years,  the  king  retained  the  lands  till  the  heir  attained  the  age  of 
twenty-one,  for  his  own  profit,  maintaining  and  educating  the  heir 
according  to  his  rank.  If  the  heir  appeared  by  the  inquisition  to 
have  attained  twenty-one,  he  was  entitled  to  demand  livery  of  the 
lands  by  the  king's  officers  on  paying  a  relief  and  doing  fealty  and 
homage.  The  minor  heir  attaining  twenty-one,  and  proving  his  age, 
was  entitled  to  livery  of  his  lands,  on  doing  fealty  and  homage,  without 
paying  any  relief." 

The  idea  involved  is,  that  the  lands  were  held  and  not 
owned,  and  that  the  proprietary  right  lay  in  the  nation,  as 
represented  by  the  king.  If  we  adopt  the  poetic  idea  of  the 
Brehon  code,  that  "  land  is  perpetual  man,"  then  homage  for 
land  was  not  a  degrading  institution.  But  it  is  repugnant  to 
our  ideas  to  think  that  any  man  can,  on  any  ground,  or  for  any 
consideration,  part  with  his  manhood,  and  become  by  homage 
the  "  man  "  of  another. 

The  Norman  chieftains  claimed  to  be  peers  of  the  monarch, 
and  to  sit  in  the  councils  of  the  nation,  as  barons-by-tenure 
and  not  by  patent.  This  was  a  decided  innovation  upon  the 
usages  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  and  ultimately  converted  the 
Parliament,  the  folc-gcmot,  into  two  branches.  Those  who 
accompanied  the  king  stood  in  the  same  position  as  the 
companions  of  Romulus,  they  were  the  patricians  ;  those  sub- 
sequently called  to  the  councils  of  the  sovereign  by  patent 
corresponded  with  the  Roman  nobiles.  No  such  patents  were 
issued  by  any  of  the  Norman7  monarchs.  But  the  insolence 
of  the  Norman  nobles  led  to  the  attempt  made  by  the  suc- 
cessors of  the  Conqueror  to  revive  the  Saxon  earldoms  as  a 
counterpoise.  The  weakness  of  Stephen  enabled  the  greater 
feudees  to  fortify  their  castles,  and  they  set  up  claims  against 


^  fond* 


132      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

the  Crown,  which  aggravated  the  discord  that  arose  in  subse- 
quent reigns. 

The  "  Saxon  Chronicles,"  p.  238,  thus  describes  the  oppres- 
sions of  the  nobles,  and  the  state  of  England  in  the  reign  of 
Stephen : 

"  They  grievously  oppressed  the  poor  people  with  building  castles, 
and  when  they  were  built,  filled  them  with  wicked  men,  or  rather 
devils,  who  seized  both  men  and  women  who  they  imagined  had 
any  money,  threw  them  into  prison,  and  put  them  to  more  cruel 
tortures  than  the  martyrs  ever  endured ;  they  suffocated  some  in 
mud,  and  suspended  others  by  the  feet,  or  the  head,  or  the  thumbs, 
kindling  fires  below  them.  They  squeezed  the  heads  of  some  with 
knotted  cords  till  they  pierced  their  brains,  while  they  threw  others 
into  dungeons  swarming  with  serpents,  snakes,  and  toads." 

The  nation  was  mapped  out,  and  the  owners'  names  inscribed  w 
in  the  Doomsday  Book.     There  were  no  urToccupTed  lands^ 


rw 


-.'.'f. 


and  had  the  possessors  been  loyal  and  prudent,  the  sovereign 

^MH^^M^v^l^^MM^^MMM^kMMaBi^lMMM««HMMHfc*aHMMM«JM^MM^^^^^^^       ^^^^^^^^^MMiMMMMMMl^HiMHMMMM 

would  have  had  no  lands,  save  his  own  private  domains,  to  give 
'away,  nor  would  the  industrious  have  been  able  to  become 
tenants-in-fee.  The  alterations  which  have  taken  place  in  the 
possession  of  land  since  the  composition  of  the  Book  of  Doom, 
have  been  owing  to  the  disloyalty  or  extravagance  of  the  • 
J  descendants  of  those  then  found  in  possession. 

Notwithstanding  the  vast  loss  of  life  in  the  contests  follow- 
ing upon  the  invasion,  the  population  of  England  increased 
from  2,150,000  in  1066,  when  William  landed,  to  3,350,000  in 
1152,  when  the  great-grandson  of  the  Conqueror  ascended  the 
throne,  and  the  first  of  the  Plantagenets  ruled  in  England. 


V.   THE   PLANTAGENETS. 

Whatever  doubts  may  exist  as  to  the  influence  of  the 
Norman  Conquest  upon  the  mass  of  the  people — the  freemen, 
the  ceorls,  and  the  serfs — there  can  be  no  doubt  that  its 
effect  upon  the  higher  classes  was  very  great.  It  added  to 
the  existing  feudalism — the  system  of  Baronage,  with  its 
concomitants  of  castellated  residences  filled  with  armed  men. 
It  led  to  frequent  contests  between  neighbouring  lords,  in 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         133 

which  the  liberty  and  rights  of  the  freemen  were  imperilled. 
It  also  eventuated  in  the  formation  of  a  distinct  order— the 
peerage,  and  for  a  time  the  constitutional  influence  of  the 
assembled  people,  the  folc-gemot,  was  overborne. 

The  principal  Norman  chieftains  were  Barons  in  their  own 
country,  and  they  retained  that  position  in  England,  but  their 
holdings  in  both  were  feudal,  not  hereditary.  When  the  Crown, 
originally  elective,became  hereditary, the  barons  sought  to  have 
their  possessions  governed  by  the  same  rule,  to  remove  them 
from  the  class  of  terra-regis  (folc-land),  and  to  convert  them 
into  chartered  land.  Being  gifts  from  the  monarch,  he  had  the 
right  to  direct  the  descent,  and  all  charters  which  gave  land 
to  a  man  and  his  heirs,  made  each  of  them  only  a  tenant  for 
life  ;  the  possessor  was  bound  to  hand  over  the  estate  undivided 
to  the  heir,  and  he  could  neither  give,  sell,  nor  bequeath  it. 
The  land  was  beneficia,  just  as  appointments  in  the  Church, 
and  reverted,  as  they  do,  to  the  patron  to  be  re-granted.  They 
were  held  upon  military  service,  and  the  major  barons,  adopt- 
ing the  Saxon  title  Earl,  claimed  to  be  peers  of  the  monarch, 
and  were  called  to  the  councils  of  the  state  as  barons-by- 
tenure.  •  In  reply  to  a  quo  warranto,  issued  to  the  Earl  of 
Surrey,  in  the  reign  of  Edward  L,  he  asserted  that  his  ances- 
tors had  assisted  William  in  gaining  England,  and  were 
equally  entitled  to  a  share  of  the  spoils.  "  It  was,"  said  he, 
"  by  their  swords  that  his  ancestors  had  obtained  their  lands, 
and  that  by  his  he  would  maintain  his  rights."  The  same 
monarch  required  the  Earls  of  Hereford  and  Norfolk  to  go 
over  with  his  army  to  Guienne,  and  they  replied,  "The  tenure 
of  our  lands  does  not  require  us  to  do  so,  unless  the  king  went 
in  person."  The  king  insisted  ;  the  earls  were  firm.  "  By 
God,  sir  Earl,"  said  Edward  to  Hereford,  "you  shall  go  or 
hang."  "  By  God,  sir  King,"  replied  the  earl,  "  I  will  neither  go 
nor  hang."  The  king  submitted  and  forgave  his  warmth. 

The  struggle  between  the  nobles  and  the  Crown  commenced, 
and  was  continued,  under  varying  circumstances.  Each  of  the 
barons  had  a  large  retinue  of  armed  men  under  his  own 
command,  and  the  Crown  was  liable  to  be  overborne  by  a 


134     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

union  of  ambitious  nobles.  At  one  time  the  monarch  had  to 
face  them  at  Runnymede  and  yield  to  their  demands  ;  at 
another  he  was  able  to  restrain  them  with  a  strong  hand. 
The  Church  and  the  Barons,  when  acting  in  union,  proved  too 
strong  for  the  Sovereign,  and  he  had  to  secure  the  alliance  of 
one  of  these  parties  to  defeat  the  views  of  the  other.  The 
barons  abused  their  power  over  the  freemen,  and  sought 
to  establish  the  rule  "  that  every  man  must  have  a  lord,"  thus 
reducing  them  to  a  state  of  vassalage.  King  John  separated 
the  barons  into  two  classes — major  and  minor  ;  the  former 
should  have  at  least  thirteen  knights'  fees  and  a  third  part ; 
the  latter  remained  country  gentlemen.  The  2oth  Henry 
III.,  cap.  3  and  4,  was  passed  to  secure  the  rights  of  freemen, 
who  were  disturbed  by  the  great  lords,  and  gave  them  an 
appeal  to  the  king's  courts  of  assize. 

Bracton,  an  eminent  lawyer  who  wrote  in  the  time  of  Henry 
III.,  says : 

"The  king  hath  superiors — viz.,  God  and  the  law  by  which  he  is 
made  king ;  also  his  court — viz.,  his  earls  and  barons.  Earls  are  the 
king's  associates,  and  he  that  hath  an  associate  hath  a  master ;  and 
therefore,  if  the  king  be  unbridled,  or  (which  is  all  one)  without  law, 
they  ought  to  bridle  him,  unless  they  will  be  unbridled  as  the  king, 
and  then  the  commons  may  cry,  Lord  Jesus,  pity  us,"  etc. 

An  eminent  lawyer,  time  of  Edward  I.,  writes  : 
"  Although  the  king  ought  to  have  no  equal  in  the  land,  yet 
because  the  king  and  his  commissioners  can  be  both  judge  and 
party,  the  king  ought  by  right  to  have  companions,  to  hear  and 
determine  in  Parliament  all  writs  and  plaints  of  wrongs  done  by 
the  king,  the  queen,  or  their  children." 

These  views  found  expression  is  the  coronation  oath. 
Edward  II.  was  forced  to  swear : 

"Will  you  grant  and  keep,  and,  by  your  oath,  confirm  to  the 
people  of  England  the  laws  and  customs  to  them,  granted  by  the 
ancient  kings  of  England,  your  righteous  and  godly  predecessors; 
and  especially  to  the  clergy  and  people,  by  the  glorious  King  St 
Edward,  your  predecessor  ?  " 

The  king's  answer — "  I  do  them  grant  and  promise." 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         135 

"  Do  you  grant  to  hold  and  keep  the  laws  and  rightful  customs 
which  the  commonalty  of  your  realm  shall  have  chosen,  and  to  main- 
tain and  enforce  them  to  the  honour  of  God  after  your  power." 

The  king's  answer — "  I  this  do  grant  and  promise." 

I  shall  not  dwell  upon  the  event  most  frequently  quoted 
with  reference  to  the  era  of  the  Plantagenets — I  mean  King 
John's  "  Magna  Charta."  It  was  more  social  than  territorial, 
and  tended  to  limit  the  power  of  the  Crown,  and  to  increase 
that  of  the  barons.  The  Plantagenets  had  not  begun  to  call 
Commons  to  the  House  of  Lords.  The  issue  of  writs  was 
confined  to  those  who  were  barons-by-tenure,  the  patricians 
of  the  Norman  period.  The  creation  of  nobles  was  the  in- 
vention of  a  later  age.  The  baron  feasted  in  his  hall,  while 
the  slave  grovelled  in  his  cabin.  Bracton,  the  famous  lawyer 
of  the  time  of  Henry  III.,  says  :  "  All  the  goods  a  slave 
acquired  belonged  to  his  master,  who  could  take  them  from 
him  whenever  he  pleased,"  therefore  a  man  could  not  purchase 
his  own  freedom.  "  In  the  same  year,  1283,"  says  the  Annals 
of  Dunstable,  "  we  sold  our  slave  by  birth,  William  Pyke,  and 
all  his  family,  and  received  one  mark  from  the  buyer."  The 
only  hope  for  the  slave  was,  to  try  and  get  into  one  of 
the  walled  towns,  when  he  became  free.  Until  the  Wars  of 
the  Roses,  these  serfs  were  greatly  harassed  by  their  owners. 

In  the  reign  of  Edward  I.,  efforts  were  made  to  prevent  the 
alienation  of  land  by  those  who  received  it  from  the  Norman 
sovereigns.  The  statute  of  mortmain  was  passed  to  restrain 
the  giving  of  lands  to  the  Church,  the  statute  de  donis  to  pre- 
vent alienation  to  laymen.  The  former  declares  : 

"  That  whereas  religious  men  had  entered  into  the  fees  of  other 
men,  without  licence  and  will  of  the  chief  lord,  and  sometimes  ap- 
propriating and  buying,  and  sometimes  receiving  them  of  gift  of 
others,  whereby  the  services  that  are  due  of  such  fee,  and  which,  in 
the  beginning,  were  provided  for  the  defence  of  the  realm,  are  wrong- 
fully withdrawn,  and  the  chief  lord  do  lose  the  escheats  of  the  same 
(the  primer  seizin  on  each  life  that  dropped) ;  it  therefore  enacts : 
That  any  such  lands  were  forfeited  to  the  lord  of  the  fee ;  and  if  he 
did  not  take  it  within  twelve  months,  it  should  be  forfeited  to  the 


136      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

king,  who  shall  enfeoff  other  therein  by  certain  services  to  be  done 
for  us  for  the  defence  of  the  realm." 

Another  Act,  the  6th  Edward  I.,  cap.  3,  provides  :      . 

"  That  alienation  by  the  tenant  in  courtesy  was  void,  and  the  heir 
was  entitled  to  succeed  to  his  mother's  property,  notwithstanding  the 
act  of  his  father." 

The  1 3th  Edward  I.,  cap.  41,  enacts  : 

"  That  if  the  abbot,  priors,  and  keepers  of  hospitals,  and  other 
religious  houses,  aliened  their  land,  they  should  be  seized  upon  by 
the  king." 

The  1 3th  Edward  I.,  cap.  I,  de  donis  conditionalitis,  provided  : 
"  That  tenements  given  to  a  man,  and  the  heirs  of  his  body,  should,  at 

all  events,  go  to  the  issue,  if  there  were  any;  or,  if  there  were  none, 

should  revert  to  the  donor" 

But  while  the  fiefs  of  the  Crown  were  forbidden  to  alien 
their  lands,  the  freemen,  whose  lands  were  Odhal  (noble)  and 
of  Saxon  descent,  the  inheritance  of  which  was  guaranteed  to 
them  by  55  William  I.  (ante,  p.  119),  were  empowered  to  sell 
their  estates  by  the  statute  called  Quia  Emptores  (6  Edward  I.). 
It  enacts  : 

"  That  from  henceforth  it  shall  be  lawful  to  every  freeman  to  sell, 
at  his  own  pleasure,  his  lands  and  tenements,  or  part  of  them :  so 
that  the  feoffee  shall  hold  the  same  lands  and  tenements  of  the  chief 
lord  of  the  fee  by  such  customs  as  his  feoffee  held  before." 

The  scope  of  these  laws  was  altered  in  the  reign  of  Edward 
III.  That  monarch,  in  view  of  his  intended  invasion  of 
France,  secured  the  adhesion  of  the  landowners,  by  giving 
them  power  to  raise  money  upon  and  alien  their  estates.  The 
permission  was  as  follows,  I  Edward  III.,  cap.  12  : 

"  Whereas  divers  people  of  the  realm  complain  themselves  to  be 
grieved  because  that  lands  and  tenements  which  be  holden  of  the 
king  in  chief,  and  aliened  without  licence,  have  been  seized  into 
the  king's  hand,  and  holden  as  forfeit :  (2.)  The  king  shall  not  hold 
them  as  forfeit  in  such  case,  but  will  and  grant  from  henceforth  of 
such  lands  and  tenements  so  aliened,  there  shall  be  reasonable  fine 
taken  in  chancery  by  due  process." 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         137 

I  Edward  III.,  cap.  13  : 

"  Whereas  divers  have  complained  that  they  be  grieved  by  reason 
of  purchasing  of  lands  and  tenements,  which  have  been  holden  of  the 
king's  progenitors  that  now  is,  as  of  honours ;  and  the  same  lands 
have  been  taken  into  the  king's  hands,  as  though  they  had  been 
holden  in  chief  of  the  king,  as  of  his  crown  :  (2.)  The  king  will  that 
from  henceforth  no  man  be  grieved  by  any  such  purchase." 

De  Lolme,  chap,  iii.,  sec.  3,  remarks  on  these  laws  that  they 
took  from  the  king  all  power  of  preventing  alienation  or  of 
purchase.  They  left  him  the  reversionary  right  on  the  failure 
of  heirs. 

These  changes  in  the  relative  power  of  the  sovereign  and 
the  nobles  took  place  to  enable  Edward  to  enter  upon  the 
conquest  of  France ;  but  that  monarch  conferred  a  power 
upon  the  barons,  which  was  used  to  the  detriment  of  his 
descendants,  and  led  to  the  dethronement  of  the  Plantagenets. 

The  line  of  demarcation  between  the  two  sets  of  titles,  those 
derived  through  the  Anglo-Saxon  laws  and  those  derived 
through  the  grants  of  the  Norman  sovereigns,  was  gradually 
being  effaced.  The  people  looked  back  to  the  laws  of  Edward 
the  Confessor,  and  forced  them  upon  Edward  II.  But  after 
passing  the  laws  which  prevented  nobles  from  selling,  and 
empowering  freemen  to  do  so,  Edward  III.  found  it  needful 
to  assert  his  claims  to  the  entire  land  of  England,  and  enacted 
in  the  twenty-fourth  year  of  his  reign  : 

"  That  the  king  is  the  universal  lord  and  original  proprietor  of  all 
land  in  his  kingdom;  and  that  no  man  doth,  or  can  possess,  any  part  of 
it  but  what  has  mediately  or  immediately  been  derived  as  a  gift  from 
him  to  be  held  on  feodal  service" 

Those  who  obtained  gifts  of  land,  only  held  or  had  the 
use  of  them  ;  the  ownership  rested  in  the  Crown.  Feodal 
service,  the  maintenance  of  armed  men,  and  the  bringing 
them  into  the  field,  was  the  rent  paid. 

The  wealth  which  came  into  England  after  the  conquest 
of  France  influenced  all  classes,  but  none  more  than  the 
family  of  the  king.  His  own  example  seems  to  have  affected 
his  descendants.  The  invasion  of  France,  and  the  captivity 


138      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

of  its  king,  reappear  in  the  invasion  of  England  by  Henry 
IV.,  and  the  capture  and  dethronement  of  Richard  II.  The 
prosperity  of  England  during  the  reign  of  Edward,  had  passed 
away  in  that  of  his  grandson.  Very  great  distress  pervaded 
the  land,  and  it  led  to  efforts  to  get  rid  of  villeinage.  The 
1st  Richard  II.  recites  : 

"  That  grievous  complaints  had  been  made  to  the  Lords  and 
Commons,  that  villeins  and  land  tenants  daily  withdraw  into  cities 
and  towns,  and  a  special  commission  was  appointed  to  hear  the  case, 
and  decide  thereon." 

The  complaint  was  renewed,  and  appears  in  Act  9  Richard 
II.,  cap.  2  : 

"  Whereas  divers  villeins  and  serfs,  as  well  of  the  great  Lords  as 
of  other  people,  as  well  spiritual  as  temporal,  do  fly  within  the  cities, 
towns,  and  places  enfranched,  as  the  city  of  London,  and  other  like, 
and  do  feign  divers  suits  against  their  Lords,  to  the  intent  to  make 
them  free  by  the  answer  of  the  Lords,  it  is  accorded  and  assented 
that  the  Lords  and  others  shall  not  be  forebound  of  their  villeins, 
because  of  the  answer  of  the  Lords." 

Serfdom  or  slavery  may  have  existed  previous  to  the 
Anglo-Saxon  invasion,  but  I  am  disposed  to  think  that  the 
Saxons,  the  Jutes,  and  the  Angles  reduced  the  inhabitants  of 
the  lands  which  they  conquered,  into  serfdom.  The  history 
of  that  period  shows  that  men,  women,  and  children  were 
constantly  sold,  and  that  there  were  established  markets. 
One  at  Bristol,  which  was  frequented  by  Irish  buyers,  was  put 
down,  owing  to  the  remonstrance  of  the  bishop.  After  the 
Norman  invasion  the  name  of  Villein,  a  person  attached  to  the 
villa,  was  given  to  the  serfs.  The  village  was  their  residence. 
Occasional  instances  of  enfranchisement  took  place  ;  the  word 
signified  being  made  free,  and  at  that  time  every  freeman  was 
entitled  to  a  vote.  The  word  enfranchise  has  latterly  come  to 
bear  a  different  meaning,  and  to  apply  solely  to  the  possession 
of  a  vote,  but  it  originally  meant  the  elevation  of  a  serf  into 
the  condition  of  a  freeman.  The  act  of  enfranchisement  was 
a  public  ceremony  usually  performed  at  the  church  door. 
The  last  act  of  ownership  performed  by  the  master  was  the 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         139 

piercing  of  the  right  ear  with  an  awl.  Many  serfs  fled  into 
the  towns,  where  they  were  enfranchised  and  became  freemen. 
The  disaffection  of  the  common  people  increased  ;  they 
were  borne  down  with  oppression.  They  struggled  against 
their  masters,  and  tried  to  secure  their  personal  liberty,  and 
the  freedom  of  their  land.  The  population  rose  in  masses 
in  the  reign  of  Richard  II.,  and  demanded — 

1st.  The  total  abolition  of  slavery  for  themselves  and 
their  children  for  ever  ; 

2d.  The  reduction  of  the  rent  of  good  land  to  4d.  per  acre  ; 

3d.    The  right  of  buying  and  selling,  like  other  men,  in 
markets  and  fairs ; 

4th.  The  pardon  of  all  offences. 

The  monarch  acted  upon  insidious  advice  ;  he  spoke  them  fair 
at  first,  to  gain  time,  but  did  not  fulfil  his  promises.  Ultimately 
the  people  gained  part  of  their  demands.  To  limit  or  defeat 
them,  an  Act  was  passed,  fixing  the  wages  of  labourers  to  4d. 
per  day,  with  meat  and  drink,  or  6d.  per  day,  without  meat  and 
drink,  and  others  in  proportion ;  but  with  the  proviso,  that  if  any 
one  refused  to  serve  or  labour  on  these  terms,  every  justice  was  at 
liberty  to  send  him  to  jail,  there  to  remain  until  he  gave  security 
to  serve  and  labour  as  by  law  required.  A  subsequent  Act  pre- 
vents their  being  employed  by  the  week,  or  paid  for  holidays. 
Previous  to  this  period,  the  major  barons  and  great  lords 
tilled  their  land  by  serfs,  and  had  very  large  flocks  and  herds 
of  cattle.  On  the  death  of  the  Bishop  of  Winchester,  1367, 
his  executors  delivered  to  Bishop  Wykeham,  his  successor  in 
the  see,  the  following:  127  draught  horses,  1556  head  of 
cattle,  3876  wedders,  4777  ewes,  and  3541  lambs.  Tillage  was 
neglected;  and  in  1314  there  was  a  severe  dearth,  wheat 
sold  at  a  price  equal  to  £30  per  quarter,  the  brewing  of  ale 
was  discontinued  by  proclamation,  in  order  "  to  prevent  those 
of  middle  rank  from  perishing  for  want  of  food." 

The  dissensions  among  the  descendants  of  Edward  III.  as  to 
the  right  to  the  Crown,  aided  the  nobles  in  their  efforts  to  make 
their  estates  hereditary  ;  and  the  civil  wars  which  afflicted  the 
nation  tended  to  promote  that  object  Kings  were  crowned  and 


140      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

discrowned  at  the  will  of  the  nobles,  who  compelled  the  freemen 
to  part  with  their  small  estates.  The  oligarchy  dictated  to  the 
Crown,  and  oppressed  and  kept  down  the  freemen.  The  nobles 
allied  themselves  with  the  serfs,  who  were  manumitted  that 
they  might  serve  as  soldiers  in  the  conflicting  armies. 

From  the  Conquest  to  the  time  of  Richard  II.,  only  barons- 
by-tenure,  the  descendants  of  the  companions  of  the  Conqueror, 
were  invited  by  writ  to  Parliament.  That  monarch  made  an 
innovation,  and  invited  others  who  were  not  barons-by-tenure. 
The  first  dukedom  was  created  the  nth  of  Edward  III., 
and  the  first  viscount  the  i8th  Henry  VI. 

Edward  IV.  seized  upon  the  lands  granted  by  former  kings, 
and  gave  them  to  his  own  followers,  and  thus  created  a 
feeling  of  uneasiness  in  the  minds  of  the  nobility,  and 
paved  the  way  for  the  events  which  were  accomplished 
by  a  succeeding  dynasty.  The  decision  in  the  Taltarum 
case  opened  the  question  of  succession  ;  and  Edward's  efforts 
to  put  down  retainers  was  the  precursor  of  the  Tudor  policy. 

We  have  a  picture  of  the  state  of  society  in  the  reign  of 
Edward  IV.  in  the  Paston  Memoirs,  written  by  Margaret 
Paston.  Her  husband,  John  Paston,  was  heir  to  Sir  John 
Fastolf.  He  was  bound  by  the  will  to  establish  in  Caister 
Castle,  Fastolf's  own  mansion,  a  college  of  religious  men  to 
pray  for  his  benefactor's  soul.  But  in  those  days  might  was 
right,  and  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  fancying  that  he  should  like 
the  house  for  himself,  quietly  took  possession  of  it.  At  that 
time,  Edward  was  just  seated  on  the  throne,  and  Edward  had 
just  been  reported  to  Paston  to  have  said  in  reference  to 
another  suit,  that 

"  He  would  be  your  good  lord  therein  as  he  would  to  the  poorest 
man  in  England.  He  would  hold  with  you  in  your  right ;  and  as  for 
favour,  he  will  not  be  understood  that  he  shall  show  favour  more  to 
one  man  to  another,  not  to  one  in  England." 

This  was  a  true  expression  of  the  king's  intentions.  But 
either  he  was  changeable  in  his  moods,  or  during  these  early 
years  he  was  hardly  settled  enough  on  the  throne  always  to 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         141 

be  able  to  carry  out  his  wishes.  This  time,  however,  in  some 
way  or  another,  the  great  duke  was  reduced  to  submission, 
and  Caister  was  restored  to  Paston. 

In  1465  a  new  claimant  appeared  ;  and  claimants,  though 
as  troublesome  in  the  fifteenth  as  the  nineteenth  century,  pro- 
ceeded in  a  different  fashion.  This  time  it  was  the  Duke  of 
Suffolk,  who  asserted  a  right  to  the  manor  of  Drayton  in  his 
own  name,  and  who  had  bought  up  the  assumed  rights  of 
another  person  to  the  manor  of  Hellesdon.  John  Paston  was 
away,  and  his  wife  had  to  bear  the  brunt.  An  attempt  to 
levy  rent  at  Drayton  was  followed  by  a  threat  from  the  duke's 
men,  that  if  her  servants  "  ventured  to  take  any  further  dis- 
tresses at  Drayton,  even  if  it  were  but  of  the  value  of  a  pin, 
they  would  take  the  value  of  an  ox  in  Hellesdon." 

Paston  and  the  duke  alike  professed  to  be  under  the  law. 
But  each  was  anxious  to  retain  that  possession  which  in  those 
days  seems  really  to  have  been  nine  points  of  the  law.  The 
duke  got  hold  of  Drayton,  whilst  Hellesdon  was  held  for 
Paston.  One  day  Paston's  men  made  a  raid  upon  Drayton, 
and  carried  off  seventy-seven  head  of  cattle.  Another  day 
the  duke's  bailiff  came  to  Hellesdon  with  300  men  to  see  if 
the  place  were  assailable.  Two  servants  of  Paston,  attempt- 
ing to  keep  a  court  at  Drayton  in  their  master's  name,  were 
carried  off  by  force.  At  last  the  duke  mustered  his  retainers 
and  marched  against  Hellesdon.  The  garrison,  too  weak  to 
resist,  at  once  surrendered. 

"  The  duke's  men  took  possession,  and  set  John  Paston's  own 
tenants  to  work,  very  much  against  their  wills,  to  destroy  the  mansion 
and  break  down  the  walls  of  the  lodge,  while  they  themselves  ran- 
sacked the  church,  turned  out  the  parson,  and  spoiled  the  images. 
They  also  pillaged  very  completely/  every  house  in  the  village.  As 
for  John  Paston's  own  place,  they  stripped  it  completely  bare ;  and 
whatever  there  was  of  lead,  brass,  pewter,  iron,  doors  or  gates,  or 
other  things  that  they  could  not  conveniently  carry  off,  they  hacked 
and  hewed  them  to  pieces.  The  duke  rode  through  Hellesdon  to 
Drayton  the  following  day,  while  his  men  were  still  busy  completing 
the  wreck  of  destruction  by  the  demolition  of  the  lodge.  The  wreck 


142      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

of  the  building,  with  the  rents  they  made  in  its  walls,  is  visible  even 
now  "  (Introd.  xxxv.). 

The  meaning  of  all  this  is  evident.  We  have  before  us  a 
state  of  society  in  which  the  anarchical  element  is  predomin- 
ant. But  it  is  not  pure  anarchy.  The  nobles  were  deter- 
mined to  reduce  the  middle  classes  to  vassalage. 

The  reign  of  the  Plantagenets  witnessed  the  elevation  of  the 
nobility.  The  descendants  of  the  Norman  barons  menaced, 
and  sometimes  proved  too  powerful  for  the  Crown.  In  such 
reigns  as  those  of  Edward  I.,  Edward  III.,  and  Henry  V.,  the 
sovereigns  held  their  own  ;  but  in  those  of  John,  Edward  II., 
and  Henry  VI.,  the  barons  triumphed.  The  power  wielded 
by  the  first  Edward  fell  from  the  feeble  grasp  of  his  son  and 
successor.  The  beneficent  rule  of  Edward  III.  was  followed 
by  the  anarchy  of  Richard  II.  Success  led  to  excess.  The 
triumphant  party  thinned  the  ranks  of  its  opponents,  and  in 
turn  experienced  the  same  fate.  The  fierce  struggle  of  the  Red 
and  White  Roses  weakened  each.  Guy,  Earl  of  Warwick,  "  the 
king-maker,"  sank  overpowered  on  the  field  of  Tewkesbury, 
and  with  him  perished  many  of  the  most  powerful  of  the  nobles. 
The  jealousy  of  Richard  III.  swept  away  his  own  friends  ; 
and  the  bloody  contest  on  Bosworth  field  destroyed  the  flower 
of  the  nobility.  The  sun  of  the  Plantagenets  went  down, 
leaving  the  country  weak  and  impoverished,  from  a  contest 
in  which  the  barons  sought  to  establish  their  own  power, 
to  the  detriment  alike  of  the  Crown  and  the  freemen.  The 
latter  might  have  exclaimed  : 

' '  Till  half  a  patriot,  half  a  coward,  grown, 
We  fly  from  meaner  tyrants  to  the  throne. " 

The  long  contest  terminated  in  the  defeat  alikeof  the  Crown  and 
the  nobles,  but  the  nation  suffered  severely  from  the  struggle. 
The  rule  of  this  family  proved  fatal  to  the  interest  of  a 
most  important  class,  whose  rights  were  jealously  guarded  by 
the  Normans.  The  Liberi  Homines,  the  freemen,  who  were 
Odhal  occupiers,  holding  in  capite  from  the  sovereign,  nearly 
disappeared  in  the  wars  of  the  Roses.  Monarchs,  who  owed 
their  crown  to  the  favour  of  the  nobles,  were  too  weak  to 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         143 

uphold  the  rights  of  those  who  held  directly  from  the  Crown, 
and  who,  in  their  isolation,  were  almost  powerless. 

The  term  freeman,  originally  one  of  the  noblest  in  the  land, 
disappeared  in  relation  to  urban  tenures,  and  was  applied 
solely  to  the  personal  rights  of  civic  burghers  ;  instead  thereof 
arose  the  term  freeholder,  from  free  hold,  which  was  originally 
a  grant  free  from  all  rent,  and  only  burthened  with  military 
service.  The  term  was  subsequently  applied  to  land  held  for 
leases  for  lives  as  contradistinguished  from  leases  for  years,  the 
latter  being  deemed  base  tenures,  and  insufficient  to  qualify  a 
man  to  vote ;  the  theory  being  that  no  man  was  free  whose 
tenure  could  be  disturbed  during  his  life.  Though  the  Liberi 
Homines  or  freemen  were,  as  a  class,  overborne  in  this  struggle, 
and  reduced  to  vassalage,  yet  their  descendants  were  able,  under 
the  leadership  of  Cromwell,  to  regain  some  of  the  rights  and  in- 
fluence of  which  they  had  been  despoiled  under  the  Plantagenets. 

Fortescue,  Lord  Chief-Justice  to  Henry  VI.,  thus  describes 
the  condition  of  the  English  people  : 

"  They  drunk  no  water,  unless  it  be  that  some  for  devotion,  and 
upon  a  rule  of  penance,  do  abstain  from  other  drink.  They  eat 
plentifully  of  all  kinds  of  flesh  and  fish.  They  wear  woollen  cloth  in  all 
their  apparel.  They  have  abundance  of  bed  covering  in  their  houses, 
and  all  other  woollen  stuff.  They  have  great  store  of  all  implements  of 
household.  They  are  plentifully  furnished  with  all  instruments  of  hus- 
bandry, and  all  other  things  that  are  requisite  to  the  accomplishment 
of  a  great  and  wealthy  life,  according  to  their  estates  and  degrees." 

This  flattering  picture  is  not  supported  by  the  existing 
disaffection  and  the  repeated  applications  for  redress  from  the 
serfs  and  the  smaller  farmers,  and  the  simple  fact  that  the 
population  had  increased  under  the  Normans — a  period  of 
88  years — from  2,150,000  to  3,350,000,  while  under  the 
Plantagenets — a  period  of  360  years — it  only  increased  to 
4,000,000,  the  addition  to  the  population  in  that  period  being 
only  650,000.  The  average  increase  in  the  former  period  was 
nearly  14,000  per  annum,  while  in  the  latter  it  did  not  much 
exceed  2000  per  annum.  This  goes  far  to  prove  the  evil  from 
civil  wars,  and  the  oppression  of  the  oligarchy. 


144      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

VI.   THE  TUDORS. 

The  protracted  struggle  of  the  Plantagenets  left  the  nation 
in  a  state  of  exhaustion.  The  nobles  had  absorbed  the  lands 
of  the  freemen,  and  had  thus  broken  the  backbone  of  society. 
They  had  then  entered  upon  a  contest  with  the  Crown  to  in- 
crease their  own  power  ;  and  to  effect  their  selfish  objects, 
set  up  puppets,  and  ranged  under  conflicting  banners,  but  the 
Nemesis  followed.  The  Wars  of  the  Roses  destroyed  their 
own  power,  and  weakened  their  influence,  by  sweeping  away 
the  heads  of  the  principal  families.  The  ambition  of  the 
nobles  failed  of  its  object,  when  "  the  last  of  the  barons"  lay 
gory  in  his  blood  on  the  field  of  Tewkesbury.  The  wars  were, 
however,  productive  of  one  national  benefit,  in  virtually  ending 
the  state  of  serfdom  to  which  the  aborigines  were  reduced  by 
the  Scandinavian  invasion.  The  exhaustion  of  the  nation 
prepared  the  way  to  changes  of  a  most  radical  character ; 
and  the  reigns  of  the  Tudors  are  characterised  by  greater 
innovations  and  more  striking  alterations  than  even  those 
which  followed  the  accession  of  the  Normans. 

Henry  of  Richmond  came  out  of  the  field  of  Bosworth  a 
victor,  and  ascended  the  throne  of  a  nation  whose  leading 
nobles  had  been  swept  away.  The  sword  had  vied  with 
the  axe.  Henry  VII.  was  prudent  and  cunning;  and  in  the 
absence  of  any  preponderating  oligarchical  influence,  planted 
the  heel  of  the  sovereign  upon  the  necks  of  the  nobles.  He 
succeeded  where  the  Plantagenets  had  failed.  His  accession 
became  the  advent  of  a  series  of  measures,  which  altered  most 
materially  the  system  of  landholding.  The  Wars  of  the  Roses 
showed  that  the  power  of  the  nobles  was  too  great  for  the 
comfort  of  the  monarch.  The  decision  in  Taltarum's  case,  in 
the  reign  of  Edward  IV.,  affected  the  entire  system  of  entail. 
Land,  partly  freed  from  restrictions,  passed  into  other  hands. 
But  Henry  went  further.  He  destroyed  their  physical  influ- 
ence by  rigidly  putting  down  retainers  ;  and  in  one  of  his 
tours,  while  partaking  of  the  hospitality  of  the  Earl  of  Oxford, 
he  fined  him  ;£  15,000  for  having  greeted  him  with  5000  of  his 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         145 

tenants  in  livery.  The  rigid  enforcement  of  the  laws  passed 
against  retainers  in  former  reigns,  but  now  made  more  penal, 
strengthened  the  king  and  reduced  the  power  of  the  nobles. 
Their  estates  were  relieved  of  a  most  onerous  charge,  and 
the  lands  freed  from  the  burden  of  supporting  the  army  of 
the  State. 

Henry  VII.  had  thus  a  large  fund  to  give  away  ;  the  rent  of 
the  land  granted  in  knight's  service,  virtually  consisted  of  two 
separate  funds — one  part  went  to  the  feudee,  as  officer  or 
commandant,  the  other  to  the  soldiery  or  vassals.  The  latter 
part  belonged  to  the  State.  Had  Henry  applied  it  to  the 
re-establishment  of  the  class  of  freemen  (Liberi  Homines),  as 
was  recently  done  by  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  when  he 
abolished  serfdom,  he  would  have  created  a  power  on  which 
the  Crown  and  the  constitution  could  rely.  This  might  have 
been  done  by  converting  the  holdings  of  the  men-at-arms 
into  allodial  estates,  held  direct  from  the  Crown.  Such  an 
arrangement  would  have  left  the  income  of  the  feudee  unim- 
paired, as  it  would  only  have  applied  the  fund  that  had  been 
paid  to  the  men-at-arms  to  this  purpose  ;  and  by  creating  out 
of  that  land  a  number  of  small  estates  held  direct  from  the 
Crown,  the  misery  that  arose  from  the  eviction  and  destruc- 
tion of  a  most  meritorious  class,  would  have  been  avoided. 
Vagrancy,  with  its  great  evils,  would  have  been  prevented,  and 
the  passing  of  the  poor  laws  would  have  been  unnecessary. 
Unfortunately  Henry  and  his  counsellors  did  not  appreciate 
the  consequence  of  the  suppression  of  retainers  and  liveries. 
He  compensated  the  nobles,  but  destroyed  the  agricultural 
middle  class,  by  the  course  he  adopted  to  secure  the  influence 
of  the  Crown. 

This  change  had  an  important  and,  in  some  respects,  a  most 
injurious  effect  upon  the  condition  of  the  nation,  and  led  to 
enactments  of  a  very  extraordinary  character,  which  I  must 
submit  in  detail,  inasmuch  as  I  prefer  giving  the  ipsissima  verba 
of  the  statute  book  to  any  statement  of  my  own.  To  make 
the  laws  intelligible,  I  would  remind  you  that  the  successful 
efforts  of  the  nobles  had,  during  the  three  centuries  of  Planta- 

K 


146      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

genet  rule,  nearly  obliterated  the  Liberi  Homines  (whose  rights 
the  Norman  conqueror  had  sedulously  guarded),  and  had 
reduced  them  to  a  state  of  vassalage.  They  held  the  lands  of 
their  lord  at  his  will,  and  paid  their  rent  by  military  service. 
When  retainers  were  put  down,  and  rent  or  knight's  service  was 
no  longer  paid  with  armed  men,  their  occupation  was  gone. 
They  were  unfit  for  the  mere  routine  of  husbandry,  and  unpro- 
vided with  funds  for  working  their  farms.  The  policy  of  the 
nobles  was  changed.  It  was  no  longer  their  object  to  maintain 
small  farmsteads,  each  supplying  its  quota  of  armed  men  to 
the  retinue  of  the  lord  ;  and  it  was  their  interest  to  obtain 
money  rents.  Then  commenced  a  struggle  of  the  most  fearful 
character.  The  nobles  cleared  their  lands,  pulled  down  the 
houses,  and  displaced  the  people.  Vagrancy,  on  a  most 
unparalleled  scale,  took  place.  Henry  VII.,  to  check  this 
cruel,  unexpected,  and  harsh  outcome  of  his  own  policy, 
resorted  to  legislation,  which  proved  nearly  ineffectual.  As 
early  as  the  fourth  year  of  his  reign,  these  efforts  commenced 
with  an  enactment  (cap.  19)  for  keeping  up  houses  and  encour- 
aging husbandry ;  it  is  very  quaint,  and  is  as  follows : 

"  The  King,  our  Sovereign  Lord,  having  singular  pleasure  above 
all  things  to  avoid  such  enormities  and  mischiefs  as  be  hurtful  and 
prejudicial  to  the  commonwealth  of  this  his  land  and  his  subjects  of 
the  same,  remembereth  that,  among  other  things,  great  inconvenience 
daily  doth  increase  by  dissolution,  and  pulling  down,  and  wilful  waste 
of  houses  and  towns  within  this  his  realm,  and  laying  to  pasture 
lands,  which  continually  have  been  in  tilth,  whereby  idleness,  the 
ground  and  beginning  of  all  mischief,  daily  do  increase ;  for  where, 
in  some  towns  200  persons  were  occupied,  and  lived  by  these  lawful 
labours,  now  there  be  occupied  two  or  three  herdsmen,  and  the 
residue  full  of  idleness.  The  husbandry,  which  is  one  of  the  greatest 
commodities  of  the  realm,  is  greatly  decayed.  Churches  destroyed, 
the  service  of  God  withdrawn,  the  bodies  there  buried  not  prayed 
for,  the  patrons  and  curates  wronged,  the  defence  of  the  land  against 
outward  enemies  feebled  and  impaired,  to  the  great  displeasure 
of  God,  the  subversion  of  the  policy  and  good  rule  of  this  land,  if 
remedy  be  not  hastily  therefor  purveyed :  Wherefore,  the  King,  our 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         147 

Sovereign  Lord,  by  the  assent  and  advice,  etc.,  etc.,  ordereth, 
enacteth,  and  establisheth  that  no  person,  what  estate,  degree,  or 
condition  he  be,  that  hath  any  house  or  houses,  that  at  any  time 
within  the  past  three  years  hath  been,  or  that  now  is,  or  heretofore 
shall  be,  let  to  farm  with  twenty  acres  of  land  at  least,  or  more,  laying 
in  tillage  or  husbandry ;  that  the  owners  of  any  such  house  shall  be 
bound  to  keep,  sustain,  and  maintain  houses  and  buildings,  upon  the 
said  grounds  and  land,  convenient  and  necessary  for  maintaining  and 
upholding  said  tillage  and  husbandry;  and  if  any  such  owner  or 
owners  of  house  or  house  and  land  take,  keep,  and  occupy  any  such 
house  or  house  and  land  in  his  or  their  own  hands,  that  the  owner  of 
the  said  authority  be  bound  in  likewise  to  maintain  houses  and  build- 
ings upon  the  said  ground  and  land,  convenient  and  necessary  for 
maintaining  and  upholding  the  said  tillage  and  husbandry.  On  their 
default,  the  king,  or  the  other  lord  of  the  fee,  shall  receive  half  of  the 
profits,  and  apply  the  same  in  repairing  the  houses ;  but  shall  not 
gain  the  freehold  thereby." 

This  Act  was  followed  by  one  with  reference  to  the  Isle 
of  Wight,  4  Henry  VII.,  cap.  16,  which  recites  that  it  is  so 
near  France  that  it  is  desirable  to  keep  it  in  a  state  of  defence. 
It  provides  that  no  person  shall  have  more  than  one  farm, 
and  enacts  : 

"  For  remedy,  it  is  ordered  and  enacted  that  no  manner  of  person, 
of  what  estate,  degree,  or  condition  soever,  shall  take  any  farm  more 
than  one,  whereof  the  yearly  rent  shall  not  exceed  ten  marks ;  and  if 
any  several  leases  afore  this  time  have  been  made  to  any  person  or 
persons  of  divers  and  sundry  farmholds,  whereof  the  yearly  value  shall 
exceed  that  sum,  then  the  said  person  or  persons  shall  choose  one  farm- 
hold  at  his  pleasure,  and  the  remnant  of  the  leases  shall  be  void." 

Mr  Froude  remarks  (History,  p,  26),  "  An  Act,  tyrannical  in 
form,  was  singularly  justified  by  its  consequences.  The  farm- 
houses were  rebuilt,  the  land  rep!6ughed,  the  island  repeopled  ; 
and  in  1546,  when  the  French  army  of  60,000  men  attempted  to 
effect  a  landing  at  St  Helens,  they  were  defeated  and  driven 
back  by  the  militia,  and  a  few  levies  transported  from  Hamp- 
shire and  the  surrounding  countries." 

Lord  Bacon,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Reign  of  Henry  VII.," 
says : 


148      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

"Enclosures,  at  that  time,  began  to  be  more  frequent,  whereby 
arable  land  (which  could  not  be  manured  without  people  and  families), 
was  turned  into  pasture,  which  was  easily  rid  by  a  few  herdsmen ; 
and  tenancies  for  years,  lives,  and  at  will  (whereupon  much  of  the 
yeomanry  lived),  were  turned  into  demesnes.  This  bred  a  decay  of 
people  and  (by  consequence)  a  decay  of  towns,  churches,  tithes,  and 
the  like.  The  king,  likewise,  knew  full  well,  and  in  nowise  forgot, 
that  there  ensued  withal  upon  this  a  decay  and  diminution  of  subsidies 
and  taxes ;  for  the  more  gentlemen,  ever  the  lower  books  of  subsidies. 
In  remedying  of  this  inconvenience,  the  king's  wisdom  was  admirable, 
and  the  parliaments  at  that  time.  Enclosures  they  would  not  forbid, 
for  that  had  been  to  forbid  the  improvement  of  the  patrimony  of  the 
kingdom ;  nor  tillage  they  would  not  compel,  for  that  was  to  strive 
with  nature  and  utility;  but  they  took  a  course  to  take  away  de- 
populating enclosures  and  depopulating  pasturage,  and  yet  not  by 
that  name,  or  by  any  imperious  express  prohibition,  but  by  conse- 
quence. The  ordinance  was,  that  all  houses  of  husbandry,  that  were 
used  with  twenty  acres  of  ground  and  upwards,  should  be  maintained 
and  kept  up  for  ever,  together  with  a  competent  proportion  of  land 
to  be  used  and  occupied  with  them ;  and  in  nowise  to  be  severed 
from  them,  as  by  another  statute  made  afterwards  in  his  successor's 
time,  was  more  fully  declared :  this,  upon  forfeiture  to  be  taken,  not 
by  way  of  popular  action,  but  by  seizure  of  the  land  itself,  by  the  king 
and  lords  of  the  fee,  as  to  half  the  profits,  till  the  houses  and  land 
were  restored.  By  this  means  the  houses  being  kept  up,  did  of 
necessity  enforce  a  dweller;  and  the  proportion  of  the  land  for 
occupation  being  kept  up,  did  of  necessity  enforce  that  dweller  not 
to  be  a  beggar  ©r  cottager,  but  a  man  of  some  substance,  that 
might  keep  hinds  and  servants,  and  set  the  plough  a-going.  This 
did  wonderfully  concern  the  might  and  mannerhood  of  the  king- 
dom, to  have  farms,  as  it  were,  of  a  standard  sufficient  to  maintain 
an  able  body  out  of  penury,  and  did,  in  effect,  amortise  a  great 
part  of  the  lands  of  the  kingdom  unto  the  hold  and  occupation 
of  the  yeomanry  or  middle  people,  of  a  condition  between  gentle- 
men and  cottagers  or  peasants.  Now,  how  much  this  did  ad- 
vance the  military  power  of  the  kingdom,  is  apparent  by  the  true 
principles  of  war,  and  the  examples  of  other  kingdoms.  For  it  hath 
been  held  by  the  general  opinion  of  men  of  best  judgment  in  the 
wars  (howsoever  some  few  have  varied,  and  that  it  may  receive  some 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         149- 

distinction  of  case),  that  the  principal  strength  of  an  army  consisteth 
in  the  infantry  or  foot.  And  to  make  good  infantry,  it  requireth  men 
bred,  not  in  a  servile  or  indigent  fashion,  but  in  some  free  and 
plentiful  manner.  Therefore,  if  a  state  run  most  to  noblemen  and 
gentlemen,  and  that  the  husbandman  and  ploughman  be  but  as  their 
workfolks  and  labourers,  or  else  mere  cottagers  (which  are  but  housed 
beggars),  you  may  have  a  good  cavalry,  but  never  good  stable  bands 
of  foot;  like  to  coppice  woods,  that  if  you  leave  in  them  standing  too 
thick,  they  will  run  to  bushes  and  briars,  and  have  little  clean  under- 
wood. And  this  is  to  be  seen  in  France  and  Italy,  and  some  other 
parts  abroad,  where  in  effect  all  is  nobles  or  peasantry.  I  speak  of 
people  out  of  towns,  and  no  middle  people ;  and  therefore  no  good 
forces  of  foot :  insomuch  as  they  are  enforced  to  employ  mercenary 
bands  of  Switzers  and  the  like  for  their  battalions  of  foot,  whereby 
also  it  comes  to  pass,  that  those  nations  have  much  people  and  few 
soldiers.  Whereas  the  king  saw  that  contrariwise  it  would  follow,  that 
England^  though  much  less  in  territory,  yet  should  have  infinitely  more 
soldiers  of  their  native  forces  than  those  other  nations  have.  Thus  did 
the  king  secretly  sow  Hydra's  teeth;  whereupon  (according  to  the  poet's 
fiction)  should  rise  up  armed  men  for  the  service  of  this  kingdom." 

The  enactment  above  quoted  was  followed  by  others  in  that 
reign  of  a  similar  character,  but  it  would  appear  they  were 
not  successful.  The  evil  grew  apace.  Houses  were  pulled 
down,  farms  went  out  of  tillage.  The  people,  evicted  from 
their  farms,  and  having  neither  occupation  nor  means  of  living, 
were  idle,  and  suffering.  Succeeding  sovereigns  strove  also  to 
check  this  disorder,  and  statute  after  statute  was  passed. 
Amongst  them  are  the  /th  Henry  VIII.,  cap.  I.  It  recites  : 

"That  great  inconveniency  did  daily  increase  by  dissolution, 
pulling  down,  and  destruction  of  houses,  and  laying  to  pasture,  lands 
which  customarily  had  been  manured  and  occupied  with  tillage  and 
husbandry,  whereby  idleness  doth  increase ;  for  where,  in  some  town- 
lands,  hundreds  of  persons  and  their  ancestors,  time  out  of  mind, 
were  daily  occupied  with  sowing  of  corn  and  graynes,  breeding  of 
cattle,  and  other  increase  of  husbandry,  that  now  the  said  persons 
and  their  progeny  are  disunited  and  decreased.  It  further  recites 
the  evil  consequences  resulting  from  this  state  of  things,  and  pro- 
vides that  all  these  buildings  and  habitations  shall  be  re-edificed  and 


150      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

repaired  within  one  year ;  and  all  tillage  lands  turned  into  pasture 
shall  be  again  restored  into  tillage ;  and  in  default,  half  the  value  of 
the  lands  and  houses  forfeited  to  the  king,  or  lord  of  the  fee,  until 
they  were  re-edificed.  On  failure  of  the  next  lord,  the  lord  above 
him  might  seize." 

This  Act  did  not  produce  that  increased  tilth  which  was 
anticipated.  Farmers'  attention  was  turned  to  sheep-breeding; 
and  in  order  to  supply  the  deficiency  of  cattle,  an  Act  was 
passed  in  the  2ist  Henry  VIII.,  to  enforce  the  rearing  of 
calves  ;  and  every  farmer  was,  under  a  penalty  of  6s.  8d. 
(about  ^5  of  our  currency),  compelled  to  rear  all  his  calves 
for  a  period  of  three  years ;  and  in  the  24th  Henry  VIII., 
the  Act  was  further  continued  for  two  years.  The  culture 
of  flax  and  hemp  was  also  encouraged  by  legislation.  The 
24th  Henry  VIII.,  cap.  14,  requires  every  person  occupying 
land  apt  for  tillage,  to  sow  a  quarter  of  an  acre  of  flax  or 
hemp  for  every  sixty  acres  of  land,  under  a  penalty  of  33.  46. 

The  profit  which  arose  from  sheep-farming  led  to  the  depas- 
turage  of  the  land  ;  and  in  order  to  check  it,  an  Act,  25  Henry 
VIII.,  cap.  13,  was  passed.  It  commences  thus  : 

"  Forasmuch  as  divers  and  sundry  persons  of  the  king's  subjects  of 
this  realm,  to  whom  God  of  His  goodness  hath  disposed  great  plenty 
and  abundance  of  movable  substance,  now  of  late,  within  few  years, 
have  daily  studied,  practised,  and  invented  ways  and  means  how  they 
might  gather  and  accumulate  together  into  few  hands,  as  well  great 
multitude  of  farms,  as  great  plenty  of  cattle,  and  in  especial  sheep, 
putting  such  lands  as  they  can  get  to  pasture  and  not  to  tillage: 
whereby  they  have  not  only  pulled  down  churches  and  towns,  and 
enhanced  the  old  rates  of  the  rents  of  possessions  of  this  realm,  or  else 
brought  it  to  such  excessive  fines  that  no  poor  man  is  able  to  meddle 
with  it,  but  have  also  raised  and  enhanced  the  prices  of  all  manner 
of  corn,  cattle,  wool,  pigs,  geese,  hens,  chickens,  eggs,  and  such  com- 
modities almost  double  above  the  prices  which  hath  been  accus- 
tomed, by  reason  whereof  a  marvellous  multitude  of  the  poor  people 
of  this  realm  be  not  able  to  provide  meat,  drink,  and  clothes  necessary 
for  themselves,  their  wives,  and  children,  but  be  so  discouraged  with 
misery  and  poverty,  that  they  fall  daily  to  theft,  robbery,  and  other 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         151 

inconveniences,  or  pitifully  die  for  hunger  and  cold ;  and  it  is  thought 
by  the  king's  humble  and  loving  subjects,  that  one  of  the  greatest 
occasions  that  moveth  those  greedy  and  covetous  people  so  to  accumu- 
late and  keep  in  their  hands  such  great  portions  and  parts  of  the  lands 
of  this  realm  from  the  occupying  of  the  poor  husbandmen,  and  so 
use  it  in  pasture  and  not  in  tillage,  is  the  great  profit  that  cometh  of 
sheep,  which  be  now  come  into  a  few  persons'  hands,  in  respect  of 
the  whole  number  of  the  king's  subjects,  so  that  some  have  24,000, 
some  20,000,  some  r 0,000,  some  6000,  some  5000,  and  some  more 
or  less,  by  which  a  good  sheep  for  victual,  which  was  accustomed 
to  be  sold  for  25.  4d.  or  35.  at  most,  is  now  sold  for  6s.,  55.,  or  45- 
at  the  least ;  and  a  stone  of  clothing  wool,  that  in  some  shire  of 
this  realm  was  accustomed  to  be  sold  from  i6d.  to  2od.,  is  now 
sold  for  43.  or  35.  4d.  at  the  least ;  and  in  some  counties,  where  it 
has  been  sold  for  zs.  4d.  to  23.  8d.,  or  33.  at  the  most,  it  is  now  55. 
or  43.  8d.  at  the  least,  and  so  arreysed  in  every  part  of  the  realm, 
which  things  thus  used  be  principally  to  the  high  displeasure  of 
Almighty  God,  to  the  decay  of  the  hospitality  of  this  realm,  to  the 
diminishing  of  the  king's  people,  and  the  let  of  the  cloth  making, 
whereby  many  poor  people  hath  been  accustomed  to  be  set  on  work  ; 
and  in  conclusion,  if  remedy  be  not  found,  it  may  turn  to  the  utter 
destruction  and  dissolution  of  this  realm  which  God  defend." 

It  was  enacted  that  no  person  shall  have  or  keep  on  lands 
not  their  own  inheritance  more  than  2000  sheep,  under  a 
penalty  of  33.  4d.  per  annum  for  each  sheep  ;  lambs,  under  a 
year  old,  not  to  be  counted  ;  and  that  no  person  shall  occupy 
two  farms. 

Further  measures  appeared  needful  to  prevent  the  evil ;  and 
the  2/th  Henry  VIII.,  cap.  22,  states  that  the  4th  Henry  VII., 
cap.  19,  for  keeping  houses  in  repair,  and  for  the  tillage  of  the 
land,  had  been  enforced  on  lands  holden  of  the  king,  but 
neglected  by  other  lords.  It,  therefore,  enacted  that  the  king 
shall  have  the  moiety  of  the  profits  of  lands  converted  from 
tillage  to  pasture,  since  the  passing  of  the  4th  Henry  VII., 
until  a  proper  house  is  built,  and  the  land  returned  to  tillage ; 
and  in  default  of  the  immediate  lord  taking  the  profits  as 
under  that  Act,  the  king  might  take  the  same.  This  Act  ex- 
tended to  the  counties  of  Lincoln,  Nottingham,  Leicester, 


152      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Warwick,  Rutland,  Northampton,  Bedford,  Buckingham, 
Oxford,  Berkshire,  Isle  of  Wight,  Hertford,  and  Cambridge. 

The  simple  fact  was,  that  those  who  had  formerly  paid  the 
rent  of  their  land  by  service  as  soldiers  were  without  the 
capital  or  means  of  paying  rent  in  money ;  they  were  evicted 
and  became  vagrants.  Henry  VIII.  took  a  short  course  with 
these  vagrants,  and  it  is  asserted  upon  apparently  good  au- 
thority that  in  the  course  of  his  reign,  thirty-six  years,  he 
hanged  no  less  than  72,000  persons  for  vagrancy,  or  at  the 
rate  of  2000  per  annum.  The  executions  in  the  reign  of  his 
daughter,  Queen  Elizabeth,  had  fallen  to  from  300  to  400  per 
annum. 

32  Henry  VIII.,  cap.  I,  gave  powers  of  bequest  with  regard 
to  land  ;  as  it  explains  the  change  it  effected,  I  quote  it : 

"  That  all  persons  holding  land  in  socage  not  having  any  lands 
holden  by  knight's  service  of  the  king  in  chief,  be  empowered  to 
devise  and  dispose  of  all  such  socage  lands,  and  in  like  case,  persons 
holding  socage  lands  of  the  king  in  chief,  and  also  of  others,  and  not 
having  the  lands  holden  by  knight  service,  saving  to  the  king,  all 
his  right,  title,  and  interest  for  primer  seizin,  reliefs,  fines  for  aliena- 
tions, etc.  Persons  holding  lands  of  the  king  by  knight's  service  in 
chief  were  authorised  to  devise  two-third  parts  thereof,  saving  to  the 
king  wardship,  primer  seizin,  of  the  third  paid,  and  fines  for  alienation 
of  the  whole  lands.  Persons  holding  lands  by  knight's  service  in  chief, 
and  also  other  lands  by  knight's  service,  or  otherwise,  may  in  like 
manner  devise  two-third  parts  thereof,  saving  to  the  king  wardship  of 
the  third,  and  fines  for  alienation  of  the  whole.  Persons  holding 
land  of  others  than  the  king  by  knight's  service,  and  also  holding 
socage  lands,  may  devise  two-third  parts  of  the  former  and  the  whole 
of  the  latter,  saving  to  the  lord  his  wardship  of  the  third  part.  Per- 
sons holding  lands  of  the  king  by  knight's  service  but  not  in  chief,  or 
so  holding  of  the  king  and  others,  and  also  holding  socage  lands, 
may  in  like  manner  devise  two-thirds  of  the  former  and  the  whole  of 
the  latter,  saving  to  the  king  the  wardship  of  the  third  part,  and  also 
to  the  lords ;  and  the  king  or  the  other  lords  were  empowered  to 
seize  the  one-third  part  in  case  of  any  deficiency." 

The  34th  and  35th  Henry  VIII.,  cap.  5,  was  passed  to 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         153 

remove  some  doubts  which  had  arisen  as  to  the  former  statute ; 
it  enacts : 

"  That  the  words  estates  of  inheritance  should  only  mean  estates 
in  fee-simple  only,  and  empowers  persons  seized  of  any  lands,  etc.,  in 
fee-simple  solely,  or  in  co-partnery  (not  having  any  lands  holden  of 
knight's  service),  to  devise  the  whole,  except  corporations.  Persons 
seized  in  fee-simple  of  land  holden  of  the  king  by  knight's  service  may 
give  or  devise  two-thirds  thereof,  and  of  his  other  lands,  except  cor- 
poration, such  two-thirds  to  be  ascertained  by  the  divisor  or  by 
commission  out  of  the  Court  of  Ward  and  Liveries.  The  king  was 
empowered  to  take  his  third  land  descended  to  the  heir  in  the  first 
place,  the  devise  in  gift  remaining  good  for  the  two-thirds ;  and  if  the 
land  described  were  insufficient  to  answer  such  third,  the  deficiency 
should  be  made  up  out  of  the  two-thirds." 

"  The  next  attack,"  remarks  Sir  William  Blackstone,  vol.  ii.,  p.  117, 
"which  they  suffered  in  order  of  time  was  by  the  statute  32  Henry 
VIII.,  c.  28,  whereby  certain  leases  made  by  tenants  in  tail,  which 
do  not  tend  to  prejudice  the  issue,  were  allowed  to  be  good  in  law 
and  to  bind  the  issue  in  tail.  But  they  received  a  more  violent  blow 
the  same  session  of  Parliament  by  the  construction  put  upon  the 
statute  of  fines  by  the  statute  32  Henry  VIIL,  cap.  36,  which  declares 
a  fine  duly  levied  by  tenant  in  tail  to  be  a  complete  bar  to  him  and 
his  heirs  and  all  other  persons  claiming  under  such  entail.  This  was 
evidently  agreeable  to  the  intention  of  Henry  VII.,  whose  policy  was 
(before  common  recovery  had  obtained  their  full  strength  and  autho- 
rity) to  lay  the  road  as  open  as  possible  to  the  alienation  of  landed 
property,  in  order  to  weaken  the  overgrown  power  of  his  nobles. 
But  as  they,  from  the  opposite  reasons,  were  not  easily  brought  to 
consent  to  such  a  provision,  it  was  therefore  couched  in  his  Act 
under  covert  and  obscure  expressions ;  and  the  judges,  though  willing 
to  construe  that  statute  as  favourably  as  possible  for  the  defeating  of 
entailed  estates,  yet  hesitated  at  giving  fines  so  extensive  a  power  by 
mere  implication  when  the  statute  de  donis  had  expressly  declared 
that  they  should  not  be  a  bar  to  estates-tail.  But  the  statute  of 
Henry  VIIL,  when  the  doctrine  of  alienation  was  better  received, 
and  the  will  of  the  prince  more  implicitly  obeyed  than  before,  avowed 
and  established  that  intention." 

Fitzherbert,  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Common  Pleas  in  the 


154      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  wrote  a  work  on  surveying  and  hus- 
bandry. It  contains  directions  for  draining,  clearing,  and 
enclosing  a  farm,  and  for  enriching  the  soil  and  reducing  it 
to  tillage.  Fallowing  before  wheat  was  practised,  and  when 
a  field  was  exhausted  by  grain  it  was  allowed  to  rest.  Hol- 
lingshed  estimated  the  usual  return  as  16  to  20  bushels  of 
wheat  per  acre ;  prices  varied  very  greatly,  and  famine  was 
of  frequent  recurrence.  Leases  began  to  be  granted,  but 
they  were  not  effectual  to  protect  the  tenant  from  the  entry 
of  purchasers  nor  against  the  operation  of  fictitious  recoveries. 

In  the  succeeding  reigns  the  efforts  to  encourage  tillage  and 
prevent  the  clearing  of  the  farms  were  renewed,  and  amongst 
the  enactments  passed  were  the  following  : 

5  Edward  VI.,  cap.  5,  for  the  better  maintenance  of  till- 
age and  increase  of  corn  within  the  realm,  enacts : 

"  That  there  should  be,  in  the  year  1553,  as  much  land,  or  more, 
put  wholly  in  tillage  as  had  been  at  any  time  since  the  ist  Henry 
VIII.,  under  a  penalty  of  55.  per  acre  to  the  king;  and  in  order  to 
secure  this,  it  appoints  commissioners,  who  were  bound  to  ascertain 
by  inquests  what  land  was  in  tillage  and  had  been  converted  from 
tillage  into  pasture.  The  commission  issued  precepts  to  the  sheriffs, 
who  summoned  jurors,  and  the  inquests  were  to  be  returned,  certified, 
to  the  Court  of  Exchequer.  Any  prosecution  for  penalties  should 
take  place  within  three  years,  and  the  Act  continued  for  ten  years." 

2  and  3  Philip  and  Mary,  cap.  2,  recites  the  former  Acts  of 
4  Henry  VII.,  cap.  19,  etc.,  which  it  enforces.  It  enacts  : 

"  That  as  some  doubts  had  arisen  as  to  the  interpretation  of  the 
words  twenty  acres  of  land,  the  Act  should  apply  to  houses  with 
twenty  acres  of  land,  according  to  the  measurement  of  the  ancient 
statute ;  and  it  appoints  commissioners  to  inquire  as  to  all  houses 
pulled  down  and  all  land  converted  from  pasture  into  tillage  since  the 
4th  Henry  VII.  The  commissioners  were  to  take  security  by  recog- 
nisance from  offenders,  and  to  re-edify  the  houses  and  reconvert  the 
land  into  tillage,  and  to  assess  the  tenants  for  life  towards  the  repairs. 
The  amount  expended  under  order  of  the  commissioners  was  made 
recoverable  against  the  estate,  and  the  occupiers  were  made  liable  to 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         155 

their  orders ;  and  they  had  power  to  commit  persons  refusing  to  give 
security  to  carry  out  the  Act." 

2  and  3  Philip  and  Mary,  cap.  3,  was  passed  to  provide  for 
the  increase  of  milch  cattle,  and  it  enacts  : 

"  That  one  milch  cow  shall  be  kept  and  calf  reared  for  every  sixty 
sheep  and  ten  oxen  during  the  following  seven  years." 

The  2d  Elizabeth,  cap.  2,  confirms  the  previously  quoted 
Acts  of  4  Henry  VII.,  cap.  19;  7  Henry  VIII.,  cap.  I  ;  27 
Henry  VIII.,  cap.  22;  27  Henry  VIII.,  cap.  18;  and  it  enacts: 

"  That  all  farm-houses  belonging  to  suppressed  monasteries  should 
be  kept  up,  and  that  all  lands  which  had  been  in  tillage  for  four  years 
successively  at  any  time  since  the  2oth  Henry  VIII.,  should  be  kept 
in  tillage  under  a  penalty  of  IDS.  per  acre,  which  was  payable  to  the 
heir  in  reversion,  or  in  case  he  did  not  levy  it,  to  the  Crown." 

31  Elizabeth,  cap.  7,  went  further;  and  in  order  to  provide 
allotments  for  the  cottagers,  many  of  whom  were  dispossessed 
from  their  land,  it  provided  : 

"  For  avoiding  the  great  inconvenience  which  is  found  by  experi- 
ence to  grow  by  the  erecting  and  building  of  great  numbers  of 
cottages,  which  daily  more  and  more  increased  in  many  parts  of  the 
realm,  it  was  enacted  that  no  person  should  build  a  cottage  for  habi- 
tation or  dwelling,  nor  convert  any  building  into  a  cottage,  without 
assigning  and  laying  thereto  four  acres  of  land,  being  his  own  free- 
hold and  inheritance,  lying  near  the  cottage,  under  a  penalty  of£io ; 
and  for  upholding  any  such  cottages,  there  was  a  penalty  imposed  of 
403.  a  month,  exception  being  made  as  to  any  city,  town,  corporation, 
ancient  borough,  or  market  town ;  and  no  person  was  permitted  to 
allow  more  than  one  family  to  reside  in  each  cottage,  under  a  penalty 
of  i  os.  per  month." 

The  39th  Elizabeth,  cap.  2,  was  passed  to  enforce  the  ob- 
servance of  these  conditions.  It  provides : 

"  That  all  lands  which  had  been  in  tillage  shall  be  restored  thereto 
within  three  years,  except  in  cases  where  they  were  worn  out  by  too 
much  tillage,  in  which  case  they  might  be  grazed  with  sheep ;  but  in 
order  to  prevent  the  deterioration  of  the  land,  it  was  enacted  that  the 
quantity  of  beeves  or  muttons  sold  off  the  land  should  not  exceed 
that  which  was  consumed  in  the  mansion-house." 


156      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

In  these  various  enactments  of  the  Tudor  monarchs  we 
may  trace  the  anxious  desire  of  these  sovereigns  to  repair  the 
mistake  of  Henry  VII.,  and  to  prevent  the  depopulation  of 
England.  A  similar  mistake  has  been  made  in  Ireland  since 
1846,  under  which  the  homes  of  the  peasantry  have  been  pros- 
trated, the  land  thrown  out  of  tillage,  and  the  people  driven 
from  their  native  land.  Mr  Froude  has  the  following  remarks 
upon  this  legislation : 

"  Statesmen  (temp.  Elizabeth)  did  not  care  for  the  accumulation 
of  capital.  They  desired  to  see  the  physical  well-being  of  all  classes 
of  the  commonwealth  maintained  in  the  highest  degree  which  the 
producing  power  of  the  country  admitted.  This  was  their  object, 
and  they  were  supported  in  it  by  a  powerful  and  efficient  majority  of 
the  nation.  At  one  time,  Parliament  interfered  to  protect  employers 
against  labourers,  but  it  was  equally  determined  that  employers 
should  not  be  allowed  to  abuse  their  opportunities ;  and  this  directly 
appears  from  the  4th  and  5th  Elizabeth,  by  which,  on  the  most  trifling 
appearance  of  a  diminution  of  the  currency,  it  was  declared  that  the 
labouring  man  could  no  longer  live  on  the  wages  assigned  to  him  by 
the  Act  of  Henry  VIII. ;  and  a  sliding  scale  was  instituted,  by  which, 
for  the  future,  wages  should  be  adjusted  to  the  price  of  food.  The 
same  conclusion  may  be  gathered  also  indirectly  from  the  Acts  inter- 
fering imperiously  with  the  rights  of  property  where  a  disposition 
showed  itself  to  exercise  them  selfishly. 

"  The  city  merchants,  as  I  have  said,  were  becoming  landowners, 
and  some  of  them  attempted  to  apply  their  rules  of  trade  to  the  man- 
agement of  landed  estates.  While  wages  were  rated  so  high,  // 
answered  better  as  a  speculation  to  convert  arable  land  into  pasture,  but 
the  law  immediately  stepped  in  to  prevent  a  proceeding  which  it  regarded 
as  petty  treason  to  the  State.  Self-protection  is  the  first  law  of  life,  and 
the  country,  relying  for  its  defence  on  an  able-bodied  population, 
evenly  distributed,  ready  at  any  moment  to  be  called  into  action, 
either  against  foreign  invasion  or  civil  disturbance,  it  could  not  permit 
the  owners  of  land  to  pursue,  for  their  own  benefit,  a  course  of  action 
which  threatened  to  weaken  its  garrisons.  It  is  not  often  that  we  are 
able  to  test  the  wisdom  of  legislation  by  specific  results  so  clearly  as 
in  the  present  instance.  The  first  attempts  of  the  kind  which  I  have 
described  were  made  in  the  Isle  of  Wight  early  in  the  reign  of  Henry 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         157 

VII.  Lying  so  directly  exposed  to  attacks  by  France,  the  Isle  of 
Wight  was  a  place  which  it  was  peculiarly  important  to  keep  in  a 
state  of  defence,  and  the  4th  Henry  VII.,  cap.  16,  was  passed  to 
prevent  the  depopulation  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  occasioned  by  the 
system  of  large  farms." 

The  city  merchants  alluded  to  by  Froude,  seem  to  have 
remembered  that  from  the  times  of  Athelwolf,  the  possession 
of  a  certain  quantity  of  land,  with  gatehouse,  church,  and 
kitchen,  converted  the  ceorl  (churl)  into  a  thane. 

It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  effect  which  the  Tudor  policy 
had  upon  the  landholding  of  England.  Under  the  feudal 
system,  the  land  was  held  in  trust  and  burthened  with  the 
support  of  the  soldiery.  Henry  VII.,  in  order  to  weaken  the 
power  of  the  nobles,  put  an  end  to  their  maintaining  inde- 
pendent soldiery.  Thus  landlords'  incomes  increased,  though 
their  material  power  was  curtailed.  It  would  not  have  been 
difficult  at  this  time  to  have  loaded  these  properties  with 
annual  payments  equal  to  the  cost  of  the  soldiers  which  they 
were  bound  to  maintain,  or  to  have  given  each  of  them  a 
farm  under  the  Crown,  and  strict  justice  would  have  pre- 
vented the  landowners  from  putting  into  their  pockets  those 
revenues  which,  according  to  the  grants  and  patents  of  the 
Conqueror  and  his  successors,  were  specially  devoted  to 
the  maintenance  of  the  army.  Land  was  released  from  the 
conditions  with  which  it  was  burthened  when  granted.  This 
was  not  done  by  direct  legislation  but  by  its  being  the 
policy  of  the  Crown,  to  prevent  "  king-makers "  arising  from 
among  the  nobility.  The  dread  of  Warwick  influenced  Henry. 
He  inaugurated  a  policy  which  transferred  the  support  of 
the  army  from  the  lands,  which  should  solely  have  borne  it, 
to  the  general  revenue  of  the  Country.  Thus  he  relieved  one 
class  at  the  expense  of  the  nation.  Yet,  when  Henry  was 
about  to  wage  war  on  the  Continent,  he  called  all  his  subjects 
to  accompany  him,  under  pain  of  forfeiture  of  their  lands  ;  and 
he  did  not  omit  levying  the  accustomed  feudal  charge  for 
knighting  his  eldest  son  and  for  marrying  his  eldest  daughter. 
The  Acts  to  prevent  the  landholder  from  oppressing  the  occu- 


158      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

pier,  and  those  for  the  encouragement  of  tillage,  failed.  The 
new  idea  of — property  in  land,  which  then  obtained,  proved 
too  powerful  to  be  altered  by  legislation. 

Another  change  in  the  system  of  landholding  took  place  in 
these  reigns.  Lord  Cromwell,  who  succeeded  Cardinal  Wol- 
sey,  as  minister  to  Henry  VIIL,  had  land  in  Kent,  and  he 
obtained  the  passing  of  an  Act  (31  Henry  VIIL,  cap.  2)  which 
took  his  land  and  that  of  other  owners  therein  named,  out  of 
the  custom  of  gavelkind  (gave-all-kind),  which  had  existed  in 
Kent  from  before  the  Norman  Conquest,  and  enacted  that 
they  should  descend  according  to  common  law  in  like  manner 
as  lands  held  by  knight's  service. 

The  suppression  of  the  RELIGIOUS  HOUSES  gave  the  Crown 
the  control  of  a  vast  quantity  of  land.  It  had,  with  the  con- 
sent of  the  Crown,  been  devoted  to  religion  by  former  owners. 
The  descendants  of  the  donors  were  equitably  entitled  to  the 
land,  as  it  ceased  to  be  applied  to  the  trust  for  which  it  was 
given,  but  the  power  of  the  Crown  was  too  great,  and  their 
claims  were  refused.  Had  these  estates  been  applied  to  pur- 
poses of  religion  or  education  they  would  have  formed  a  valu- 
able fund  for  the  improvement  of  the  people  ;  but  the  land 
itself,  as  well  as  the  portion  of  tithes  belonging  to  the  religi- 
ous houses,  was  conferred  upon  favourites,  and  some  of  the 
wealthiest  nobles  of  the  present  day  trace  their  rise  and  im- 
portance, to  the  rewards  obtained  by  their  ancestors  out  of 
the  spoils  of  these  charities. 

The  importance  of  the  measures  of  the  Tudors  upon  the 
system  of  landholding  can  hardly  be  exaggerated.  The  im- 
pulse of  self-defence  led  them  to  lessen  the  physical  force  of 
the  oligarchy  by  relieving  the  land  from  the  support  of  the 
army,  and  enabling  them  to  convert  to  their  own  use  the  income 
previously  applied  to  the  defence  of  the  realm.  This  was  a 
bribe,  but  it  brought  its  own  punishment.  The  eviction  of  the 
working  farmers,  the  demolition  of  their  dwellings,  the  depopu- 
lation of  the  country,  were  evils  of  most  serious  magnitude;  and 
the  supplement  of  the  measures  which  produced  such  deplor- 
able results,  was  found  in  the  permanent  establishment  of  a 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         159 

taxation  for  the  SUPPORT  of  the  POOR.  Yet  the  nation 
reeled  under  the  depletion  produced  by  previous  mistaken 
legislation,  and  all  classes  have  been  injured  by  the  transfer 
of  the  support  of  the  army  from  the  land  held  by  the  nobles 
to  the  income  of  the  people. 

Side  by  side,  with  the  measures  passed,  to  prevent  the  Clear- 
ing of  the  Land,  arose  the  system  of  POOR  LAWS.  Previous 
to  the  Reformation  the  poor  were  principally  relieved  at  the 
religious  houses.  The  destruction  of  small  farms,  and  the 
eviction  of  such  masses  of  the  people,  which  commenced  in 
the  reign  of  Henry  VII.,  overpowered  the  resources  of  these 
establishments;  their  suppression  in  the  reigns  of  Henry  VIII. 
and  Elizabeth  aggravated  the  evil.  The  indiscriminate  and 
wholesale  execution  of  the  poor  vagrants  by  the  former  mon- 
arch only  partially  removed  the  evil,  and  the  statute  book  is 
loaded  with  acts  for  the  relief  of  the  destitute  poor.  The  first 
efforts  were  collections  in  the  churches  ;  but  voluntary  alms 
proving  insufficient,  the  powers  of  the  churchwardens  were 
extended,  and  they  were  directed  and  authorised  to  assess  the 
parishioners  according  to  their  means,  and  thus  arose  a  system 
which,  though  benevolent  in  its  object,  is  a  slur  upon  our 
social  arrangements.  Land,  the  only  source  of  food,  is  rightly 
charged  with  the  support  of  the  destitute.  The  necessity  for 
such  aid  arose  originally  from  their  being  evicted  therefrom. 
The  charge  should  fall  exclusively  upon  the  rent  receivers,  and 
in  no  case  should  the  tiller  of  the  soil  have  to  pay  this  charge 
either  directly  or  indirectly.  It  is  continued  by  the  inadequacy 
of  wages,  and  the  improvidence  engendered  by  a  social  system 
which  arose  out  of  injustice,  and  produced  its  own  penalty. 

Legislation  with  regard  to  the  poor  commenced  contem- 
poraneous with  the  laws  against  the  eviction  of  the  small 
farmers.  I  have  already  recited  some  of  the  laws  to  preserve 
small  holdings  ;  I  now  pass  to  the  Acts  meant  to  compel  land- 
holders to  provide  for  those  whom  they  had  dispossessed. 
In  1530  the  Act  22  Henry  VIII.,  cap.  12,  was  passed ;  it  recites: 

"  Whereas  in  all  places  through  the  realm  of  England,  vagabonds 
and  beggars  have  of  long  time  increased,  and  daily  do  increase,  in 


160      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

great  and  excessive  numbers  by  the  occasion  of  idleness,  the  mother 
and  root  of  all  vices,*  whereby  hath  insurged  and  sprung,  and  daily 
insurgeth  and  springeth,  continual  thefts,  murders,  and  other  heinous 
offences  and  great  enormities,  to  the  high  displeasure  of  God,  the 
inquietation  and  damage  of  the  king  and  people,  and  to  the  marvel- 
lous disturbance  of  the  commonweal  of  the  realm." 

It  enacts  that  justices  may  give  licence  to  impotent  persons 
to  beg  within  certain  limits,  and,  if  found  begging  out  of  their 
limits,  they  shall  be  set  in  the  stocks.  Beggars  without 
licence  to  be  whipped  or  set  in  the  stocks.  All  persons  able 
to  labour,  who  shall  beg  or  be  vagrant,  shall  be  whipped  and 
sent  to  the  place  of  their  birth.  Parishes  to  be  fined  for 
neglect  of  the  constables. 

37  Henry  VI II.,  cap.  23,  continued  this  Act  to  the  end  of 
the  ensuing  Parliament. 

1  Edward  VI.,  cap.  3,  recites  the  increase  of  idle  vagabonds, 
and  enacts  that  all  persons  loitering  or  wandering  shall  be 
marked  with  a  V,  and  adjudged  a  slave  for  two  years,  and 
afterwards  running  away  shall  become  a  felon.      Impotent 
persons   were  to  be  removed  to  the  place  where  they  had 
resided   for  three   years,   and   allowed   to  beg.      A   weekly 
collection  was  to  be  made   in   the   churches  every  Sunday 
and  holiday  after  reading  the  gospel .  of  the  day,  the  amount 
to  be  applied  to  the  relief  of  bedridden  poor. 

5  and  6  Edward  VI.,  cap.  2,  directs  the  parson,  vicar,  curate, 
and  churchwardens,  to  appoint  two  collectors  to  distribute 
weekly  to  the  poor.  The  people  were  exhorted  by  the  clergy 
to  contribute  ;  and,  if  they  refuse,  then,  upon  the  certificate  of 
the  parson,  vicar,  or  curate,  to  the  bishop  of  the  diocese,  he 
shall  send  for  them  and  induce  him  or  them  to  charitable 
ways. 

2  and  3  Philip  and  Mary,  cap.  5,  re-enacts  the  former,  and 
requires  the  collectors  to  account  quarterly ;  and  where  the 
poor  are  too  numerous  for  relief,  they  were  licensed  by  a  justice 
of  the  peace  to  beg. 

*  See  4  Henry  VII.,  cap.  19,  ante,  p.  146,  where  the  same  expression  occurs, 
showing  that  it  was  throwing  the  land  out  of  tilth  that  occasioned  pauperism. 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.        161 

5  Elizabeth,  cap.  3,  confirms  and  renews  the  former  Acts,  and 
compels  collectors  to  serve  under  a  penalty  of  £10.  Persons 
refusing  to  contribute  their  alms  shall  be  exhorted,  and,  if  they 
obstinately  refuse,  shall  be  bound  by  the  bishop  to  appear  at 
the  next  general  quarter  session,  and  they  may  be  imprisoned 
if  they  refuse  to  be  bound. 

The  I4th  Elizabeth,  cap.  5,  requires  the  justices  of  the  peace 
to  register  all  aged  and  impotent  poor  born  or  for  three  years 
resident  in  the  parish,  and  to  settle  them  in  convenient  habita- 
tions, and  ascertain  the  weekly  charge,  and  assess  the  amount 
on  the  inhabitants,  and  yearly  appoint  collectors  to  receive  and 
distribute  the  assessment,  and  also  an  overseer  of  the  poor. 
This  Act  was  to  continue  for  seven  years. 

The  1 8th  Elizabeth,  cap.  3,  provides  for  the  employment  of 
the  poor.  Stores  of  wool,  hemp,  flax,  iron,  etc.,  to  be  provided 
in  cities  and  towns,  and  the  poor  set  to  work.  It  empowered 
persons  possessed  of  land  in  free  socage  to  give  or  devise  same 
for  the  maintenance  of  the  poor. 

The  3Qth  Elizabeth,  cap.  3,  and  the  43d  Elizabeth,  cap.  2, 
extended  these  Acts,  and  made  the  assessment  compulsory. 

I  shall  ask  you  to  compare  the  date  of  these  several  laws 
for  the  relief  of  the  destitute  poor  with  the  dates  of  the  enact- 
ments against  evictions.  You  will  find  they  run  side  by  side.* 


*  The  following  tables  of  the  Acts  passed  against  eviction,  and  enacting  the  sup- 
port of  the  poor,  show  that  they  were  contemporaneous : 


Against  Evictions. 

4  Henry  VII.,          Cap.  19. 
7  Henry  VIII.,  „       I. 

21  „ 

24  » 

25 
27 

5  Edward  VI., 

2  and  3  Philip  and  Mary, 

2  Elizabeth, 
31 
39          „ 


Enacting  Poor  Laws. 


14. 

37 

13- 

i 

22. 

5  and  6 

5- 

2  and  3 

2. 

5 

3- 

14 

2. 

18 

7- 

39 

2. 

43 

22  Henry  VIII., 

7 

I  Edward  VI., 

6 

3  Philip  and  Ma 

5  Elizabeth, 


Cap.  12. 
23- 
3- 

2. 

5- 
3- 
5- 
3- 
3- 

2. 


162      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

I  have  perhaps  gone  at  too  great  length  into  detail ;  but  I 
think  I  could  not  give  a  proper  picture  of  the  alteration  in 
the  system  of  landholding  or  its  effects  without  tracing 
from  the  statute-book  the  black  records  of  these  important 
changes.  The  suppression  of  monasteries  tended  greatly  to 
increase  the  sufferings  of  the  poor,  but  I  doubt  if  even  these 
institutions  could  have  met  the  enormous  pressure  which  arose 
from  the  wholesale  evictions  of  the  people.  The  laws  of  Henry 
VII.  and  Henry  VIII.,  enforcing  the  tillage  of  the  land,  pre- 
ceded the  suppression  of  religious  houses,  and  the  Act  of  the 
latter  monarch  allowing  the  poor  to  beg  was  passed  before 
any  steps  were  taken  to  close  the  convents.  That  measure 
was  no  doubt  injurious  to  the  poor,  but  the  main  evil  arose 
from  other  causes.  The  lands  of  these  houses,  when  no  longer 
applicable  to  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  given,  should 
have  reverted  to  the  heirs  of  the  donors,  or  have  been  applied 
to  other  religious  or  educational  purposes.  The  bestowal  of 
them  upon  favourites,  to  the  detriment  alike  of  the  State,  the 
Church,  the  Poor,  and  the  Ignorant,  was  an  abuse  of  great 
magnitude,  the  effect  of  which  is  still  felt.  The  reigns  of  the 
Tudors  are  marked  with  three  events  affecting  the  land — viz. : 


1st.  Relieving  it  of  the  support  of  the  army  ; 
2d.  Burthening  of  it  with  the  support  of  the  p^^. 
3d.  Applying  the  monastic  lands  to  private  uses. 


poor; 


The  abolition  of  retainers,  while  it  relieved  the  land  of  the 
nobles  from  the  principal  charge  thereon,  did  not  entirely 
abolish  knight's  service.  The  monarch  was  entitled  to  the 
care  of  all  minors,  to  aids  on  the  marriage  or  knighthood  of  the 
eldest  son,  to  primer-seizin  or  a  year's  rent  upon  the  death 
of  each  tenant  of  the  Crown.  These  fees  were  considerable, 
and  were  under  the  care  of  the  Court  of  Ward  and  Liveries. 

The  artisan  class  had,  however,  grown  in  wealth,  and  they 
were  greatly  strengthened  by  the  removal  from  France  of  large 
numbers  of  workmen  in  consequence  of  the  revocation  of  the 
Edict  of  Nantes.  These  prosperous  tradespeople  became 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         163 

landowners  by  purchase,  and  thus  tended  to  replace  the  Libert 
Homines,  or  freemen,  who  had  been  destroyed  under  the  wars 
of  the  nobles,  which  effaced  the  landmarks  of  English  society. 
The  liberated  serfs  attained  the  position  of  paid  farm-labourers ; 
had  the  policy  of  Elizabeth,  who  enacted  that  each  of  their 
cottages  should  have  an  allotment  of  four  acres  of  land,  been 
carried  out,  it  would  have  been  most  beneficial  to  the  State. 

The  reign  of  this  family  embraced  one  hundred  and  eighteen 
years,  during  which  the  increase  of  the  population  was  about 
twenty-five  per  cent.  When  Henry  VII.  ascended  the  throne 
in  1485  it  was  4,000,000,  and  on  the  death  of  Queen  Elizabeth 
in  1603  it  had  reached  5,000,000,  the  average  increase  being 
about  8000  per  annum.  The  changes  effected  in  the  condi- 
tion of  the  farmers'  class  left  the  mass  of  the  people  in  a  far 
worse  state  at  the  close  than  at  the  opening  of  their  rule. 

VII.   THE  STUARTS. 

The  accession  of  the  Stuarts  to  the  throne  of  England  took 
place  under  peculiar  circumstances.  The  nation  had  just 
passed  through  two  very  serious  struggles — one  political,  the 
other  religious.  The  land  which  had  been  in  the  possession  of 
religious  communities,  instead  of  being  retained  by  the  State 
for  educational  or  religious  purposes,  had  been  given  to  fav- 
ourites. A  new  class  of  ownerships  had  been  created — the 
lay  impropriators  of  tithes.  The  suppression  of  retainers 
converted  land  into  a  quasi  property.  The  extension  to  land 
of  the  powers  of  bequest  gave  the  possessors  greater  facilities 
for  disposing  thereof.  It  was  relieved  from  the  principal 
feudal  burthen,  military  service,  but  remained  essentially 
feudal  as  far  as  tenure  was  concerned.  Men  were  no  longer 
furnished  to  the  State  as  payment  of  the  knight's  fee  ;  they 
were  cleared  off  the  land,  to  make  room  for  sheep  and  oxen, 
England  being  in  that  respect  about  two  hundred  years  in 
advance  of  Ireland,  though  without  the  outlet  of  emigration. 
Vagrancy  and  its  attendant  evils  led  to  the  poor  law. 

James  I.  and  his  ministers  tried  to  grapple  with  the  altered 


164     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

circumstances,  and  strove  to  substitute  an  equitable  Crown  rent 
or  money  payment  for  the  existing  and  variable  claims  which 
were  collected  by  the  Court  of  Ward  and  Livery.  The  knighfs 
fee  then  consisted  of  twelve  ploughlands,  a  more  modern  name 
for  "a  hide  of  land."  The  class  burthened  with  knight's 
service,  or  payments  in  lieu  thereof,  comprised  160  temporal 
and  26  spiritual  lords,  800  barons,  600  knights,  and  3000 
esquires.  The  knight's  fee  was  subject  to  aids,  which  were 
paid  to  the  Crown  upon  the  marriage  of  the  king's  son  or 
daughter.  Upon  the  death  of  the  possessor,  the  Crown  received 
as  primer-seizin  a  year's  rent.  If  the  successor  was  an  infant, 
the  Crown,  under  the  name  of  Wardship,  took  the  rents  of  the 
estates.  If  the  ward  was  a  female,  a  fine  was  levied  if  she  did 
not  accept  the  husband  chosen  by  the  Crown.  Fines  on 
alienation  were  also  levied,  and  the  estates,  though  sold, 
became  escheated,  and  reverted  to  the  Crown  upon  the 
failure  of  issue.  These  various  fines  kept  alive  the  principle 
that  the  lands  belonged  to  the  Crown  as  representative  of  the 
nation  ;  but,  as  they  varied  in  amount,  James  I.  proposed  to 
compound  with  the  tenants-in-fee,  and  to  convert  them  into 
fixed  annual  payments.  The  nobles  refused,  and  the  scheme 
was  abandoned. 

In  the  succeeding  reign,  the  attempt  to  stretch  royal  power 
beyond  its  due  limits  led  to  resistance  by  force,  but  it  was  no 
longer  a  mere  war  of  nobles ;  their  power  had  been  destroyed 
by  Henry  VII.  The  Stuarts  had  to  fight  the  people  with 
a  paid  army,  and  the  Commons,  having  the  purse  of  the 
nation,  opposed  force  to  force.  The  contest  eventuated  in  a 
military  protectorship.  Many  of  the  principal  tenants-in-fee 
fled  the  country  to  save  their  lives.  Their  lands  were  con- 
fiscated and  given  away;  thus  the  Crown  rights  were  weak- 
ened, and  Charles  II.  was  forced  to  recognise  many  of  the 
titles  given  by  Cromwell ;  he  did  not  dare  to  face  the  convul- 
sion which  must  follow  an  expulsion  of  the  novo  homo  in  pos- 
session of  the  estates  of  more  ancient  families  ;  but  legislation 
went  further — it  abolished  all  the  remaining  feudal  charges. 
The  Commons  appear  to  have  assented  to  this  change,  from 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         165 

a  desire  to  lessen  the  private  income  of  the  Sovereign,  and 
thus  to  make  him  more  dependent  upon  Parliament.  This 
was  done  by  the  I2th  Charles  II.,  cap.  24.  It  enacts: 

"  That  the  Court  of  Ward  and  Liveries,  primer  seizin,  etc.,  and  all 
fines  for  alienation,  tenures  by  knight's  service,  and  tenures  in  capite, 
be  done  away  with  and  turned  into  free  and  common  socage,  and 
discharged  of  homage,  escuage,  aids,  and  reliefs.  All  future  tenures 
created  by  the  king  to  be  in  free  and  common  socage,  reserving  rents 
to  the  Crown  and  also  fines  on  alienation.  It  enables  fathers  to  dis- 
pose of  their  children's  share  during  their  minority,  and  gives  the 
custody  of  the  personal  estate  to  the  guardians  of  such  child,  and 
imposes  in  lieu  of  the  revenues  raised  in  the  Court  of  Ward  and 
Liveries,  duties  upon  beer  and  ale." 

The  land  was  relieved  of  its  legitimate  charge  and  a  tax 
on  beer  and  ale  imposed  instead !  the  landlords  were  relieved 
at  the  expense  of  the  people. 

The  statute  which  accomplished  this  change  is  described 
by  Blackstone  as — 

"  A  greater  acquisition  to  the  civil  property  of  this  kingdom  than 
even  Magna  Charta  itself,  since  that  only  pruned  the  luxuriances 
that  had  grown  out  of  military  tenures,  and  thereby  preserved  them 
in  vigour ;  but  the  statute  of  King  Charles  extirpated  the  whole,  and 
demolished  both  root  and  branches." 

The  efforts  of  James  II.  to  rule  contrary  to  the  wish  of  the 
nation,  led  to  his  expulsion  from  the  throne,  and  showed  that, 
in  case  of  future  disputes  as  to  the  succession,  the  army,  like 
the  Praetorian  Guards  of  Rome,  had  the  selection  of  the 
monarch.  The  Red  and  White  Roses  of  the  Plantagenets 
reappeared  under  the  altered  names  of  Whig  and  Tory ;  but 
it  was  proved  that  the  decision  of  a  leading  soldier  like  the 
Duke  of  Marlborough  would  decide  the  army,  and  that  it 
would  govern  the  nation ;  fortunately  the  decision  was  a  wise 
one,  and  was  ratified  by  Parliament :  thus  force  governed 
law,  and  the  decision  of  the  army  influenced  the  Senate. 
William  III.  succeeded,  as  an  elected  monarch,  under  the  Bill 


166      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

of  Rights.  This  remarkable  document  contains  no  provision, 
securing  the  tenants-in-fee  in  their  estates  ;  and  I  have  not 
met  with  any  treatise  dealing  with  the  legal  effects  of  the 
eviction  of  James  II.  All  patents  were  covenants  between 
the  king  and  his  heirs,  and  the  patentees  and  their  heirs.  The 
expulsion  of  the  sovereign  virtually  destroyed  the  title  ;  and 
an  elected  king,  who  did  not  succeed  as  heir,  was  not  bound 
by  the  patents  of  his  predecessors,  nor  was  William  asked,  by 
the  Bill  of  Rights,  to  recognise  any  of  the  existing  titles, 
i  This  anomalous  state  of  things  was  met  in  degree  by  the 
£&P  statute  of  prescriptions,  but  even  this  did  not  entirely  cure 

PTf^Hiffc^h6  defect  in  the  titles  to  the  principal  estates  in  the  kingdom. 

'  The  English  tenants  in  decapitating  one  landlord  and  expel- 

iing  another,  appear  to  have  destroyed  their  titles,  and  then 

&T~        endeavoured  to  renew  them  by  prescriptive  right;  but  I  shall 
*/not  pursue   this   topic   further,  though  it  may  have  a  very 

•  '          f  'definite  bearing  upon  the  question  of  iandholding. 

It  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  allude  rather  briefly  to  the 
state  of  England  at  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Geof- 
frey King,  who  wrote  in  1696,  gives  the  first  reliable  statistics 
about  the  state  of  the  country.  He  estimated  the  number  of 
houses  at  1,300,000,  and  the  average  at  four  to  each  house 
making  the  population  5,318,000.  He  says  there  was  but 
seven  acres  of  land  for  each  person,  but  that  England  was  six 
times  better  peopled  than  the  known  world,  and  twice  better 
than  Europe.  He  calculated  the  total  income  at  ^£43, 500,000, 
of  which  the  yearly  rent  of  land  was  ^'10,000,000.  The  in- 
come was  equal  to  ;£/,  i8s.  od.  per  head,  and  the  expense 
;£/,  us.  4d. ;  the  yearly  increase,  6s.  8d.  per  head,  or  ;£  1,800,000 
per  annum.  He  estimated  the  annual  income  of  160  temporal 
peers  at  ^"2800  per  annum,  26  spiritual  peers  at  ^1300,  of 
800  baronets  at  ;£8oo,  and  of  600  knights  at  ^650. 

He  estimated  the  area  at  39,000,000  acres  (recent  surveys 
make  it  37,319,221).  He  estimated  the  arable  land  at 
11,000,000  acres,  and  pasture  and  meadow  at  10,000,000, 
a  total  of  21,000,000.  The  area  under  all  kinds  of  crops 
and  permanent  pasture  was,  in  1874,  26,686,098  acres ;  there- 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND. 


167 


fore  about  five  and  a  half  million  acres  have  been  reclaimed 
and  added  to  the  arable  land.  As  the  particulars  of  his 
estimate  may  prove  interesting,  I  append  them  in  a  note.* 

He  places  the  rent  of  the  corn  land  at  about  one-third  of 
the  produce,  and  that  of  pasture  land  at  rather  more.     The 

*  Geoffrey  King  thus  classifies  the  land  of  England  and  Wales  : 


Arable  Land, 

Pasture  and  Meadow, 
Woods  and  Coppices, 
Forests,  Parks,  and  Covers, 
Moors,  Mountains,  and  Barren  Lands, 
Houses,  Homesteads,  Gardens,  Orch- 
ards, Churches,  and  Churchyards, 
Rivers,  Lakes,  Meres,  and  Ponds, 
Roadways  and  Waste  Lands, 


He  estimates  the  live  stock  thus 


Acres. 

Value  $  Acre. 

Rent. 

II,OOO,OOO 

£o    5  10 

;£3,200,000 

10,000,000 

090 

4,500,000 

3,000,000 

050 

750,000 

3,000,000 

036 

550,000 

10,000,000 

010 

500,OOO 

T    rw»  rw* 

(  The  Land, 

45O,OOO 

(  The  Buildings,    2,000,000 
500,000  020  50,000 

500,000 

39,000,000        £o     6    04    £12,000,000 


Beeves,  Stirks,  and  Calves, 
Sheep  and  Lambs, 

Value  without 
the  Skin. 

4,500,000       £2    o    o         £9,000,000 

II,OOO,OOO             080                4,4OO,OOO 
'   .         2,OOO,OOO              Ol6o                I,6OO,OOO 

Deer,  Fawns,  Goats  and  Kids, 

.            .           ...           .           .          247,900 

Horses,   

15,247,900 
I,2OO,OOO               2      O      O                 3,000,000 

£20,647,900 


The  annual  produce  he  estimated  as  follows  : 

Grain, 

Hemp,  Flax,  etc.,  . 
Butter,  Cheese,  and  Milk, 

Wool, 

Horses  bred,  .... 
Flesh  Meat,    .... 
Tallow  and  Hides, 
Hay  Consumed,       .         .         . 
Timber,  .... 


Acres.                      Rent. 
10,000,000        £3,000,OOO        ; 
I,OOO,OOO                200,OOO 

Produce. 

C  8,  275,  ooo 
2,000,000 
-2,500,000 
2,000,000 
250,000 
3,500,000 
600,000 
2,300,000 
L  1,000,000 

/ 

•  29,  ooo,  ooo         6,  800,  ooo 



Total, 


39,000,000     £10,000,000      £22,275,000 


168      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 


price  of  meat  per  Ib.  was  :  beef,  i£d.  ;  mutton,  2|d.  ;  pork,  3d.  ; 
venison,  6d.  ;  hares,  /d.  ;  rabbits,  6d.  The  weight  of  flesh- 
meat  consumed  was  398,000,000  Ibs.,  it  being  72  Ibs.  6  oz.  for 
each  person,  or  3  £  oz.  daily.  I  shall  have  occasion  to  contrast 
these  figures  with  those  lately  published  when  I  come  to  deal 
with  the  present  ;  but  a  great  difference  has  arisen  from  the 
alteration  in  price,  which  is  owing  to  the  increase  in  the 
quantity  of  the  precious  metals. 

The  reign  of  the  last  sovereign  of  this  unfortunate  race  was 
distinguished  by  the  first  measures  to  enclose  the  commons  and 
convert  them  into  private  property,  with  which  I  shall  deal 
hereafter. 

The  changes  effected  in  the  land  laws  of  England  during 
the  reigns  of  the  Stuarts,  a  period  of  in  years,  were  very 
important.  The  Act  of  Charles  II.  which  abolished  the  Court 
of  Ward  and  Liveries,  appeared  to  be  an  abandonment  of 
the  rights  of  the  people,  as  asserted  in  the  person  of  the 
Crown  ;  and  this  alteration  also  seemed  to  give  colour  of  right 
to  the  claim  which  is  set  up  of  property  in  land,  but  the 
following  law  of  Edward  III.  never  was  repealed  : 

"  That  the  king  is  the  universal  lord  and  original  proprietor  of  all 
land  in  his  kingdom,  and  that  no  man  doth  or  can  possess  any  part  of  it 
but  what  has  mediately  or  immediately  been  derived  as  a  gift  from  him 
to  be  held  onfeodal  service" 

No  lawyer  will  assert  for  any  English  subject  a  higher  title 
than  tenancy-in-fee,  which  bears  the  impress  of  Jwlding  and 
denies  the  assertion  of  ownership. 

The  power  of  the  nobles,  the  tenants-in-fee,  was  strengthened 
by  an  Act  passed  in  the  reign  of  William  and  Mary,  which 
altered  the  relation  of  landlord  and  tenant.  Previous  thereto, 
the  landlord  had  the  power  of  distraint,  but  he  merely  held 
the  goods  he  seized  to  compel  the  tenant  to  perform  per- 
sonal service.  It  would  be  impossible  for  a  tenant  to  pay  his 
rent  if  his  stock  or  implements  were  sold  off  the  land.  As 
the  Tudor  policy  of  money  payments  extended,  the  greed 
for  pelf  led  to  an  alteration  in  the  law,  and  the  Act  of 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         169 

William  and  Mary  allowed  the  landlord  to  sell  the  goods  he 
had  distrained.  The  tenant  remained  in  possession  of  the  land 
without  the  means  of  tilling  it,  which  was  opposed  to  public 
policy.  This  power  of  distraint  was,  however,  confined  to 
holdings  in  which  there  were  leases  by  which  the  tenant 
covenanted  to  allow  the  landlord  to  distrain  his  stock  and 
goods  in  default  of  payment  of  rent.  The  legislation  of  the 
Stuarts  was  invariably  favourable  to  the  possessor  of  land  and 
adverse  to  the  rights  of  the  people.  The  government  during 
the  closing  reigns  was  oligarchical,  so  much  so,  that  William 
III.,  annoyed  at  the  restriction  put  upon  his  kingly  power, 
threatened  to  resign  the  crown  and  retire  to  Holland  ;  but 
the  aristocracy  were  unwilling  to  relax  their  claims,  and  they 
secured  by  legislation  the  rights  they  appeared  to  have  lost 
by  the  deposition  of  the  sovereign. 

The  population  had  increased  from  5,000,000  in  1603  to 
5,750,000  in  1714,  being  an  average  increase  of  less  than  7000 
per  annum. 

VIII.    THE  HOUSE  OF  HANOVER. 

The  first  sovereign  of  the  House  of  Hanover  ascended  the 
throne  not  by  right  of  descent  but  by  election  ;  the  legitimate 
heir  was  set  aside,  and  a  distant  branch  of  the  family  was 
chosen,  and  the  succession  fixed  by  Act  of  Parliament ;  but  it 
is  held  by  jurists  that  every  Parliament  is  sovereign  and  has 
the  power  of  repealing  any  Act  of  any  former  Parliament. 
The  beneficial  rule  of  some  of  the  latter  monarchs  of  this 
family  has  endeared  them  to  the  people,  but  the  doctrine  of 
reigning  by  Divine  right,  the  favourite  idea  of  the  Stuarts,  is 
nullified,  when  the  monarch  ascends  the  throne  by  statute 
law  and  not  by  succession  or  descent. 

The  age  of  chivalry  passed  away  when  the  Puritans  de- 
feated the  Cavaliers.  The  establishment  of  standing  armies, 
and  the  creation  of  a  national  debt,  went  to  show  that  money -, 
not  knighthood  or  knight's  service,  gave  force  to  law.  The 
possession  of  wealth  and  of  rent  gave  back  to  their  possessors 


170      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

even  larger  powers  than  those  wrested  from  them  by  the  first 
Tudor  king.  The  maxim  that  "  what  was  attached  to  the 
freehold  belonged  to  the  freehold/.'  gave  the  landlords  even 
greater  powers  than  those  held  by  the  sword,  and  of  which 
they  were  despoiled.  Though  nominally  forbidden  to  take 
part  in  the  election  of  the  representatives  of  the  Commons, 
yet  they  virtually  had  the  power,  the  creation  of  freehold,  the 
substance  and  material  of  electoral  right  ;  and  consequently 
both  Houses  of  Parliament  were  essentially  landlord,  and  the 
laws,  for  the  century  which  succeeded  the  ascension  of 
George  I.,  are  marked  with  the  assertion  of  landlord  right 
which  is  tenant  wrong. 

Amongst  the  exhibitions  of  this  influence  is  an  Act  passed 
in  the  reign  of  George  II.,  which  extended  the  power  of 
distraint  for  rent,  and  the  right  to  sell  the  goods  seized — to 
all  tenancies.  Previous  legislation  confined  this  privilege 
solely  to  cases  in  which  there  were  leases,  wherein  the 
tenant,  by  written  contract,  gave  the  landlord  power  to  seize 
in  case  of  non-payment  of  rent,  but  there  was  no  legal 
authority  to  sell  until  it  was  given  by  an  Act  passed  in  the 
reign  of  William  III.  The  Act  of  George  II.  presumed  that 
there  was  such  a  contract  in  all  cases  of  parole  letting  or 
tenancy-at-will,  and  extended  the  landlord's  powers  to  such 
tenancies.  It  is  an  anomaly  to  find  that  in  the  freest 
country  in  the  world  such  an  arbitrary  power  is  confided  to 
individuals,  or  that  the  landlord-creditor  has  the  precedence 
over  all  other  creditors,  and  can,  by  his  own  act,  and  without 
either  trial  or  evidence,  issue  a  warrant  that  has  all  the  force 
of  the  solemn  judgment  of  a  court  of  law;  and  it  certainly 
appears  unjust  to  seize  a  crop,  the  seed  for  which  is  due  to 
one  man,  and  the  manure  to  another,  arM  apply  it  to  pay  the 
rent.  But  landlordism,  entrusted  with  legislative  power,  took 
effectual  means  to  preserve  its  own  prerogative,  and  the  form 
of  law  was  used  by  parliaments,  in  which  landlord  influence 
was  paramount,  to  pass  enactments  which  were  enforced  by 
the  whole  power  of  the  State,  and  sustained  individual  or 
class  rights. 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         171 

The  effect  of  this  measure  was  most  unfortunate ;  it  en- 
couraged the  letting  of  lands  to  tenants-at-will  or  tenants 
from  year  to  year,  who  could  not,  under  existing  laws,  obtain 
the  franchise  or  power  to  vote — they  were  not  freemen,  they 
were  little  better  than  serfs.  They  were  tillers  of  the  soil, 
rent-payers  who  could  be  removed  at  the  will  of  another. 
They  were  not  even  freeholders,  and  had  no  political  power — 
no  voice  in  the  affairs  of  the  nation,  The  landlords  in  Parlia- 
ment gave  themselves,  individually  by  law,  all  the  powers 
which  a  tenant  gave  them  by  contract,  while  they  had  no  cor- 
responding liability,  and,  therefore,  it  was  their  interest  to 
refrain  from  giving  leases,  and  to  make  their  tenantry  as 
dependent  on  them  as  if  they  were  mere  serfs.  This  law  was 
especially  unfortunate,  and  had  a  positive  and  very  great 
effect  upon  the  condition  of  the  farming  class  and  upon  the 
nation,  and  people  came  to  think  that  landlords  could  do  as 
they  liked  with  their  land,  and  that  the  tenants  must  be 
creeping,  humble,  and  servile. 

An  effort  to  remedy  this  evil  was  made  in  1832,  when  the 
occupiers,  if  rented  or  rated  at  the  small  amount  named, 
became  voters.  This  gave  the  power  to  the  holding,  not  to 
the  man,  and  the  landlord  could  by  simple  eviction  deprive 
the  man  of  his  vote :  hence  the  tenants-at-will  were  driven  to 
the  hustings  like  sheep — they  could  not,  and  dare  not,  refuse 
to  vote  as  the  landlord  ordered. 

The  lords  of  the  manor,  with  a  landlord  Parliament,  asserted^  /  /  » 
their  claims  to  the  commonages,  and  these  lands_jJek>ncririP-/  f  f 
to  the  people,  were  gradually  enclosed,  and  became  the  pos-"*  ' 
session  of  individuals.      The  enclosing  of  commonages  com- 
menced in  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  and  was  continued  in  the 
reigns  of  all  the  sovereigns  of/the  House  of  Hanover.     The 
first  enclosure  Act  was  passed  in  1709;  in  the  following  thirty 
years  the  average  number  of  enclosure  bills  was  about  three 
each  year;  in  the  following  fifty  years  there  were  nearly  forty 
each  year ;  and  in  the  forty  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  it 
was  nearly  fifty  per  annum. 

The  enclosures  in  each  reign^were  as  follows : 


172      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Acts.  Acres. 

Queen  Anne,       ...          2  x>439 

George  L, 16  17,660 

George  II.,     ....      226  318,784 

George  III.,    ....    3446  3,500,000 

George  IV.,    ....      192  250,000 

William  IV.,  ....        72  120,000 


Total,     .     .     .    3954         4,207,883 


'hese  lands  belonged  to  the  people,  and  might  have  been 
applied  to  relieve  the  poor.  Had  they  been  allotted  in  small 
farms,  they  might  have  been  made  the  means  of  support 
of  from  500,000  to  1,000,000  families,  and  they  would  have 
afforded  employment  and  sustenance  to  all  the  poor,  and  thus 
rendered  compulsory  taxation  under  the  poor-law  system 
unnecessary;  but  the  landlords  seized  on  them  and  made  the 
tenantry  pay  the  poor-rate. 

The  British  poor  law  is  a  slur  upon  its  boasted  civilisation. 
The  unequal  distribution  of  land  and  of  wealth  leads  to  great 
riches  and  great  poverty.  Intense  light  produces  deep  shade. 
Nowhere  else  but  in  wealthy  England  do  God's  creatures 
die  of  starvation,  wanting  food,  while  others  are  rich  beyond 
comparison.  The  soil  which  affords  sustenance  for  the  people 
is  rightly  charged  with  the  cost  of  feeding  those  who  lack  the 
necessaries  of  life,  but  the  same  object  would  be  better  achieved 
in  a  different  way.  Poor-rates  are  now  a  charge  upon  a  man's 
entire  estate,  and  it  would  be  much  better  for  society  if  land 
to  an  amount  equivalent  to  the  charge  were  taken  from  the 
estate  and  assigned  to  the  poor.  If  a  man  is  charged  with 
;£ioo  a  year  poor-rate,  it  would  make  no  real  difference  to 
him,  while  it  would  make  a  vast  difference  to  the  poor  to  take 
land  to  that  value,  put  the  poor  to  work  tilling  it,  allowing 
them  to  enjoy  the  produce.  Any  expense  should  be  paid 
direct  by  the  landlord,  which  would  leave  the  charge  upon 
the  land,  and  exempt  the  improvements  of  the  tenant,  which 
represent  his  labour  free. 

The  evil  has  intensified  in  magnitude,  and  a  permanent 

l£i#T^^~4~*^ 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         173 

army  of  paupers  numbering  at  the  minimum  829,281  persons, 
but  increasing  at  some  periods  to  upwards  of  1,000,000,  has 
to  be  provided  for ;  the  cost,  about  ,£8,000,000  a  year,  is  paid, 
not  by  landlords  but  by  tenants,  in  addition  to  the  various 
charities  founded  by  benevolent  persons. 

There  are  two  classes  relieved  under  this  system,  and 
which  ought  to  be  differently  dealt  with — the  sick  and  the 
young.  Hospitals  for  the  former  and  schools  for  the  latter 
ought  to  take  the  place  of  the  workhouse.  It  is  difficult  to 
fancy  a  worst  place  for  educating  the  young  than  the  workr 
house,  and  it  would  tend  to  lessen  the  evil  were  the  children 
of  the  poor  trained  and  educated  in  separate  establishments 
from  those  for  the  reception  of  paupers.  Pauperism  is  the 
concomitant  of  large  holdings  of  land  and  insecurity  of 
tenure.  The  necessity  of  such  a  provision  arose,  as  I  have 
previously  shown,  from  the  wholesale  eviction  of  large 
numbers  of  the  occupiers  of  land ;  and  as  the  means  of  supply- 
ing the  need  came  from  the  LAND,  the  expense  should,  like 
tithes,  have  fallen  exclusively  upon  land.  The  poor-rates 
are,  however,  also  levied  upon  houses  and  buildings,  which 
represent  labour.  The  owner  of  land  is  the  people,  as  repre- 
sented by  the  Crown,  and  the  charges  thereon  next  in 
succession  to  the  claims  of  the  State  are  the  CHURCH  and 
the  POOR. 

The  Continental  wars  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  and 
the  commencement  of  the  nineteenth  century  had  some  effect 
upon  the  system  of  tillage  ;  they  materially  enhanced  the  price 
of  agricultural  produce — rents  were  raised,  and  the  national 
debt  was  contracted,  which  remains  a  burthen  on  the  nation. 

The  most  important  change,  however,  arose  from  scientific 
and  mechanical  discoveries — tne  application  of  heat  to  the 
production  of  motive  power.  As  long  as  water,  which  is  a 
non-exhaustive  source  of  motion,  was  used,  the  people  were 
scattered  over  the  land ;  or  if  segregation  took  place,  it  was 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  running  streams.  The  application 
of  steam  to  the  propulsion  of  machinery,  and  the  discovery 
of  engines  capable  of  competing  with  the  human  hand,  led  to 


174      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

the  substitution  of  machine-made  fabrics  for  clothing,  in  place 
of  home-spun  articles  of  domestic  manufacture.  This  led  to 
the  employment  of  farm-labourers  in  procuring  coals,  to  the 
removal  of  many  from  the  rural  into  the  urban  districts,  to 
the  destruction  of  the  principal  employment  of  the  family 
during  the  winter  evenings,  and  consequently  effected  a  great 
revolution  in  the  social  system.  Many  small  freeholds  were 
sold,  the  owners  thinking  they  could  more  rapidly  acquire 
wealth  by  using  the  money  representing  their  occupancy,  in 
trade.  Thus  the  large  estates  became  larger,  and  the  smaller 
ones  were  absorbed,  while  the  appearance  of  greater  wealth 
from  exchanging  subterranean  substances  for  money,  or  its 
representative,  gave  rise  to  ostentatious  display.  The  rural 
population  gradually  diminished,  while  the  civic  population 
increased.  The  effect  upon  the  system  of  landholding  was 
triplicate.  First,  there  was  a  diminution  in  the  amount  of 
labour  applicable  to  the  cultivation  of  land  ;  second,  there 
was  a  decrease  in  the  amount  of  manure  applied  to  the  pro- 
duction of  food  ;  and  lastly,  there  was  an  increase  in  the 
demand  for  land,  as  a  source  of  investment,  by  those  who, 
having  made  money  in  trade,  sought  that  social  position 
which  follows  the  possession  of  broad  acres.  Thus  the 
descendants  of  the  feudal  aristocracy  were  pushed  aside  by 
the  modern  plutocracy. 

This  state  of  things  had  a  double  effect.  Food  is  the  result 
of  two  essential  ingredients — LAND  and  LABOUR.  The 
diminution  in  the  amount  of  labour  applied  to  the  soil,  con- 
sequent upon  the  removal  of  the  labourers  from  the  land, 
lessened  the  quantity  of  food  ;  while  the  consumption  of  that 
food  in  cities  and  towns,  and  the  waste  of  the  fertile  ingredients 
which  should  be  restored  to  the  soil,  tended  to  exhaust  the 
land,  and  led  to  vast  importations  of  foreign  and  the  manu- 
facture of  mineral  manures.  I  shall  not  detain  you  by  a  dis- 
cussion of  this  aspect  of  the  question,  which  is  of  very  great 
moment,  consequent  upon  the  removal  of  large  numbers  of 
people  from  rural  to  urban  districts  ;  but  I  may  be  excused 
in  saying  that  agricultural  chemistry  shows  that  the  soil — 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         175 

"  perpetual  man  " — contains  the  ingredients  needful  to  sup- 
port human  life  ;  those  animals  meant  for  man's  use,  being 
products  of  the  soil.  These  ingredients  are  seized  upon  by 
the  roots  of  plants  and  converted  into  aliment.  If  they  are 
consumed  where  grown,  and  the  refuse  restored  to  the  soil, 
its  fertility  is  preserved,  nay,  more,  the  effect  of  tillage  is  to 
increase  its  productive  power.  It  is  impossible  to  exhaust 
land,  no  matter  how  heavy  the  crops  that  are  grown,  if  the 
produce  is,  after  consumption,  restored  to  the  soil.  I  have 
shown  you  how,  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  a  man  was 
not  allowed  to  sell  meat  off  his  land  unless  he  brought  to, 
and  consumed  on  it,  the  same  weight  of  other  meat.  This 
was  true  agricultural  and  chemical  economy.  But  when  the 
people  were  removed  from  country  to  town,  when  the  pro- 
duce grown  in  the  former  was  consumed  in  the  latter,  and 
the  refuse  which  contained  the  elements  of  fertility  was  not 
restored  to  the  soil  but  swept  away  by  the  river,  a  process 
of  exhaustion  took  place,  which  has  been  met  in  degree  by 
the  use  of  imported  and  artificial  manures.  The  SEWAGE 
question  is  taken  up  mainly  with  reference  to  the  health  of 
towns,  but  it  deserves  consideration  in  another  aspect — its 
influence  upon  the  production  of  food  in  the  nation. 

An  exhaustive  process  upon  the  fertility  of  the  globe  has 
been  set  on  foot.  The  accumulations  of  vegetable  mould  in 
the  primeval  forests  have  been  converted  into  grain,  and  sent 
to  England,  leaving  permanent  barrenness  in  what  should  be 
prolific  plains  ;  and  the  deposits  of  the  Chincha  and  Ichaboe 
Islands  have  been  imported  in  myriads  of  tons,  to  replace  in 
our  own  land  the  resources  of  which  it  is  bereft  by  the  civic 
consumption  of  rural  produce. 

These  conjoined  operations  were  accelerated  by  the  altera- 
tion in  the.  British  corn  laws  in  1846,  which  placed  the  English 
farmer,  who  tried  to  preserve  his  land  in  a  state  of  fertility, 
in  competition  with  foreign  grain-growers,  who,  having  access 
to  boundless  fields  of  virgin  soil,  grow  grain  year  after  year 
until,  having  exhausted  the  fertile  element,  they  leave  it  in  a 
barren  condition,  and  resort  to  other  parts.  A  competition 


176      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

under  such  circumstances  resembles  that  of  two  men  of  equal 
income,  one  of  whom  appears  wealthy  by  spending  a  portion 
of  his  capital,  the  other  parsimonious  by  living  within  his 
means.  Of  course,  the  latter  has  to  debar  himself  of  many 
enjoyments.  The  British  farmer  has  lessened  the  produce  of 
grain,  and  consequently  of  meat ;  and  the  nation  has  become 
dependent  upon  foreigners  for  meat,  cheese,  and  butter,  as 
well  as  for  bread. 

This  is  hardly  the  place  to  discuss  a  question  of  agriculture, 
but  scientific  farmers  know  that  there  is  a  rotation  of  crops,* 
and  that  as  one  is  diminished  the  others  lessen.  The  quantity 
under  tillage  is  a  multiple  of  the  area  under  grain.  A 
diminution  in  corn  is  followed  by  a  decrease  of  the  extent 
under  turnips  and  under  clover ;  the  former  directly  affects 
man,  the  latter  the  meat-affording  animals.  A  decrease  in  the 
breadth  under  tillage  means  an  addition  to  the  pasture  land, 
which  in  this  climate  only  produces  meat  during  the  warm 
portions  of  the  year.  I  must,  however,  not  dwell  upon  this 
topic,  but  whatever  leads  to  a  diminution  in  the  LABOUR 
applied  to  the  LAND  lessens  the  production  of  food,  and  dear 
meat  may  only  be  the  supplement  to  cJteap  corn. 

I  shall  probably  be  met  with  the  hackneyed  cry,  The  ques- 
tion is  entirely  one  of  price.  Each  farmer  and  each  landlord 
will  ask  himself,  Does  it  pay  to  grow  grain  ?  and  in  reply  to  any 
such  inquiry,  I  would  refer  to  the  annual  returns.  I  find  that 
in  the  five  years,  1842  to  1846,  wheat  ranged  from  503.  2d.  to 
573.  Qd. ;  the  average  for  the  entire  period  being  543.  lod. 
per  quarter.  In  the  five  years  from  1870  to  1874  it  ranged 
from  463.  lod.  to  583.  8d.,  the  average  for  the  five  years  being 
543.  7d.  per  quarter.  The  reduction  in  price  has  only  been 
3d.  per  quarter,  or  less  than  one-half  per  cent. 

*  The  agricultural  returns  of  the  United  Kingdom  show  that  50^  per  cent,  of 
the  arable  land  was  under  pasture,  24  per  cent,  under  grain,  12  per  cent,  under 
green  crops  and  bare  fallow,  and  13  per  cent,  under  clover.  The  rotation  would, 
therefore,  be  somewhat  in  this  fashion :  Nearly  one-fourth  of  the  land  in  tillage,  is 
under  a  manured  crop  or  fallow,  one-fourth  under  wheat,  one-fourth  under  clover, 
and  one-fourth  under  barley,  oats,  etc.,  the  succession  being,  first  year,  the  manured 
crop  ;  next  year,  wheat ;  third  year,  clover  ;  fourth,  barley  or  oats ;  and  so  on. 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         177 

I  venture  to  think  that  there  are  higher  considerations  than 
mere  profit  to  individuals,  and  that,  as  the  lands  belong  to  the 
whole  State  as  represented  by  the  Crown,  and  as  they  are 
held  in  trust  to  produce  food  for  the  people,  that  trust  should  be 
enforced. 

The  average  consumption  of  grain  by  each  person  is  about 
a  quarter  (eight  bushels)  per  annum.  In  1841  the  population 
of  the  United  Kingdom  was  27,036,450.  ~  The  average  import 
of  foreign  grain  was  about  3,000,000  quarters,  therefore  fte^tf^/^ 
four  millions  were  fed  on  the  domestic  produce.  In  1871 
the  population  was  31,513,412,  and  the  average  importation 
of  grain  20,000,000  quarters  ;  therefore  only  eleven  and  a  hal£_ 
millions  were  supported  by  home  produce.  TTerewe  are  met 
with  the  startling  fact  that  our  own  soil  is  not  now  supplying 
grain  to  even  one  half  the  number  of  people  to  whom  it  gave 
bread  in  1841.  This  is  a  serious  aspect  of  the  question,  and 
one  that  should  lead  to  examination,  whether  the  development 
of  the  system  of  landholding,  the  absorptions  of  small  farms 
and  the  creation  of  large  ones,  is  really  beneficial  to  the  State, 
or  tends  to  increase  the  supply  of  food.  The  area  under  grain 
in  England  in  1874  was  8,021,077  acres.  In  1696  it  was 
10,000,000  acres,' the  diminution  having  been  2,000,000  acres. 
The  average  yield  would  probably  be  four  quarters  per  acre, 
and  therefore  the  decrease  amounted  to  the  enormous  quantity 
of  eight  million  quarters,  worth  ^25,000,000,  which  had  to  be 
imported  from  other  countries,  to  fill  up  the  void,  and  feed 
8,000,000  of  the  population  ;  and  if  a  war  took  place,  England 
may,  like  Rome,  be  starved  into  peace. 

An  idea  prevails  that  a  diminution  in  the  extent  under 
grain  implies  an  increase  in  the  production  of  meat.  The  best 
answer  to  that  fallacy  lies  in  the  great  increase  in  the  price  of 
meat.  If  the  supply  had  increased  the  price  would  fall,  but 
the  converse  has  taken  place.  A  comparison  of  the  figures 
given  by  Geoffrey  King,  in  the  reign  of  William  III.,  with 
those  supplied  by  the  Board  of  Trade  in  the  reign  of  Queen 
Victoria,  illustrates  this  phase  of  the  landholding  question, 

and  shows  whether  the  "enlightened  policy"  of  the  nineteenth 

M 


178      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

century  tends  to  encourage  the  fulfilment  of  the  trust  which 
applies  to  land — the  production  of  food:* 

The  former  shows  that  in  1696  there  were  ten  million  acres 
under  grain,  the  latter  only  eight  million  acres.  Two  million 
acres  were  added  for  cattle  feeding.  The  former  shows  that 
the  pasture  land  was  ten  million  acres,  and  that  green  crops 
and  clover  were  unknown.  The  latter  that  there  were  twelve 
million  acres  under  pasture,  and,  in  addition,  that  there  were 
nearly  three  million  acres  of  green  crop  and  three  million 
acres  of  clover.  The  addition  to  the  cattle-feeding  land  was 
eight  million  acres ;  yet  the  number  of  cattle  in  1696  was 
4,500,000,  and  in  1874,  4,305,400.  Of  sheep,  in  1696,  there 
were  1 1,000,000,  and  in  1874,  19,889,758.  The  population  had 
increased  fourfold,  and  it  is  no  marvel  that  meat  is  dear.  It 
is  the  interest  of  agriculturalists  to  keep  down  tJie  quantity 
and  keep  up  the  price. 

The  diminution  in  the  area   under  corn  was  not  met  by 

*  The  land  of  England  and  Wales  in  1696  and  1874  was  classified  as  follows  : 

1696.  1874. 

Acres.  Acres. 

Under  grain, 10,000,000  8,021,077 

Pastures  and  meadows,    .         .         .  10,000,000  12,071,791 

Flax,  hemp,  and  madder,        .        .  1,000,000  

Green  crops, 2,895,138 

Bare  fallow, 639,519 

Clover, 2,983,733 

Orchards,        .....  1,000,000  148,526 

Woods,  coppices,  etc.,    .        .         .  3,000,000  I)S52>598 

Forests,  parks,  and  commons,          .  3,000,000  \ 

Moors,  mountains,  and  bare  land,  10,000,000  >  9,006,839 

Waste,  water,  and  road,          .        .  1,000,000 ) 


(  39,000,000          37,319,221 

The  estimate  of  1696  may  be  corrected  by  lessening  the  quantity  of  waste  land,  and 
thus  bringing  the  total  to  correspond  with  the  extent  ascertained  by  actual  survey, 
but  it  shows  a  decrease  in  the  extent  under  grain  of  nearly  two  million  acres,  and 
an  increase  in  the  area  applicable  to  cattle  of  nearly  8,000,000  acres  ;  yet  there  is 
a  decrease  in  the  number  of  cattle,  though  an  increase  in  sheep.  The  returns  are 
as  follows  : 

1696.  1800.  1%74- 

Cattle,        .        .         .      4,500,000  2,852,428          4,305,440 

Sheep,        .         .         .     11,000,000         26,148,000         19,859,758 
Pigs,  ....      2,000,000         (not  given)          2,058,791 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         179 

a  corresponding  increase  in  live  stock — in  other  words,  the 
decrease  of  land  under  grain  is  not,  per  se,  followed  by  an 
increase  of  meat.  If  the  area  under  grain  were  increased,  it 
would  be  preceded  by  an  increase  in  the  growth  of  turnips, 
and  followed  by  a  greater  growth  of  clover  ;  and  these  cattle- 
feeding  products  would  materially  add  to  the  meat  supply. 

A  most  important  change  in  the  system  of  landholding  was 
effected  by  the  spread  of  RAILWAYS.  It  was  brought  about 
by  the  influence  of  the  trading  as  opposed  to  the  landlord 
class.  In  their  inception  they  did  not  appear  likely  to 
effect  any  great  alteration  in  the  land  laws.  The  share- 
holders had  no  compulsory  power  of  purchase,  hence  enor- 
mous sums  were  paid  for  the  land  required  ;  but  as  the 
system  extended,  Parliament  asserted  the  ownership  of  the 
nation,  over  land  in  the  possession  of  the  individual.  Acting 
on  the  idea  that  no  man  was  more  than  a  tenant,  the  State 
took  the  land  from  the  occupier,  as  well  as  the  tenant- 
in-fee,  and  gave  it,  not  at  their  own  price,  but  an  assessed 
value,  to  the  partners  in  a  railway  who  traded  for  their 
mutual  benefit,  yet  as  they  offered  to  convey  travellers  and 
goods  at  a  quicker  rate  than  on  the  ordinary  roads,  the  State 
enabled  them  to  acquire  land  by  compulsion.  A  general 
Act,  the  Land  Clauses  Act,  was  passed  in  1846,  which  gives 
privileges  with  regard  to  the  acquisition  of  land  to  the  promo- 
ters of  such  works  as  railways,  docks,  canals,  etc.  Numbers 
of  Acts  are  passed  every  session  which  assert  the  right  of  the 
State  over  the  land,  and  transfer  it  from  one  man,  or  set  of 
men,  to  another.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  principle  is  clear, 
and  rests  upon  the  assertion  of  the  State's  ownership  of  the 
land  ;  but  it  has  often  struck  me  jto  ask,  Why  is  this  applica- 
tion of  State  rights  limited  to  land  required  for  these  objects  ? 
why  not  apply  to  the  land  at  each  side  of  the  railway,  the 
principle  which  governs  that  under  the  railway  itself?  I  con- 
sider the  production  of  food  the  primary  trust  upon  the  land, 
that  rapid  transit  over  it  is  a  secondary  object ;  and  as  all 
experience  shows  that  the  division  of  land  into  small  estates 
leads  to  a  more  perfect  system  of  tillage,  I  think  it  would  be 


180      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

of  vast  importance  to  the  entire  nation  if  all  tenants  who  were, 
say,  five  years^jn  possession  were  made  "promoters  "  under 
the  Land  Clauses  Act/  and  thus  be  enabled  to  purchase  the 
(ee  of  their  holdings  in  the  same  manner  as  a  body  of  railway 
proprietors!  iFwould  be  most  useful  to  the  State  to  increase 
the  number  of  tenants-in-fee  —  to  re-create  the  ancient  free- 
men,  the  Libert  Homines  —  and  I  think  it  can  be  done  without 
requiring  the  aid  either  of  a  new  principle  or  new  machinery, 
by  simply  placing  the  farmer  in  possession  on  the  same 
footing  as  the  railway  shareholder.  I  give  at  foot  the  draft  of 
a  bill  I  prepared  in  1866  for  this  object* 

The  55th  William  I.  secured  to  freemen  the  inheritance  of 
their  lands,  and  they  were  not  able  to  sell  them  until  the  Act 
Quia  Emptores  of  Edward  I.  was  passed.  The  tendency  of 
persons  to  spend  the  representative  value  of  their  lands  and 
sell  them,  was  checked  by  the  Mosaic  law,  which  did  not 
allow  any  man  to  despoil  his  children  of  their  inheritance. 
The  possessor  could  only  mortgage  them  until  the  year  of 


-..;  A    BUJ.   T<">   y.KrflyTntnn   rmig    DTTTT  »Y   (]r  MONEY   UPO 

AGRICULTURAL   PURPOSES. 

Whereas  it  is  expedient  to  encourage  occupiers  of  land  to  expend  money 
thereon,  in  building,  drainage,  and  other  similar  improvements  ;  and  whereas  the 
existing  laws  do  not  give  the  tenants  or  occupiers  any  sufficient  security  for  such 
outlay:  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Queen's  Most  Excellent  Majesty,  by  and  with  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal,  and  Commons  in  Par- 
liament assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same  : 

1.  That  all  outlay  upon  land  for  the  purpose  of  rendering  it  more  productive 
and  all  outlay  upon  buildings  for  the  accommodation  of  those  engaged  in  tilling  or 
working  the  same,  or  for  domestic  animals  of  any  sort,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby 
deemed  to  be,  an  outlay  of  a  public  nature. 

2.  That  the  clauses  of  "The  Land  Clauses  Consolidation  Act  1845,"  "with 
respect  to  the  purchase  of  lands  by  agreement,"  and  "with  respect  to  the  pur- 
chase and  taking  of  lands  otherwise  than  by  agreement,"  and  "with  respect  to  the 
purchase  money  or  compensation  coming  to  parties  having  limited  interests,  or 
prevented   from  entering,  or  not  making  title,"   shall  be,  and  they  are  hereby 
incorporated  with  this  Act. 

3.  That  every  tenant  or  occupier  who  has  for  the  past  five  years   been  in 
possession  of  any  land,  tenements,  or  hereditaments,  shall  be  considered  "  a  pro- 
moter of  the  undertaking  within  the  meaning  of  the  said  recited  Act,  and  shall  be 
entitled  to  purchase  the  lands  which  he  has  so  occupied,  '  either  by  agreement  ' 
'  or  otherwise  than  by  agreement,'  as  provided  in  the  said  recited  Act." 

Then  follow  some  details  which  it  is  unnecessary  to  recite  here. 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         181 

jubilee — the  fiftieth  year.  In  Switzerland  and  Belgium,  where 
the  nobles  did  not  entirely  get  rid  of  the  freemen,  the  lands 
continued  to  be  held  in  small  estates.  In  Switzerland  there 
are  seventy-four  proprietors  for  every  hundred  families,  and 
in  Belgium  the  average  size  of  the  estate  is  three  and  a  half 
hectares — about  eight  acres.  These  small  ownerships  are  not 
detrimental  to  the  State.  On  the  contrary,  they  tend  to  its 
security  and  wellbeing.  I  have  treated  on  this  subject  in  my 
work,  "  The  Food  Supplies  of  Western  Europe."  These  small 
estates  existed  in  England  at  the  Norman  Conquest,  and  their 
perpetual  continuance  was  the  object  of  the  law  of  William  L, 
to  which  I  have  referred.  Their  disappearance  was  due  to 
the  greed  of  the  nobles  during  the  reign  of  the  Plantagenets, 
and  they  were  not  replaced  by  the  Tudors,  who  neglected  to 
restore  the  men-at-arms  to  the  position  they  occupied  under 
the  laws  of  Edward  the  Confessor  and  William  I. 

The  establishment  of  two  estates  in  land  ;  one  the  owner- 
ship, the  other  the  use,  may  be  traced  to  the  payment  of  rent, 
to  the  Roman  commonwealth,  for  the  ager  publicus.  Under 
the  feudal  system  the  rent  was  of  two  classes — personal 
service  or  money;  the  latter  was  considered  base  tenure.  The 
legislation  of  the  Tudors  abolished  the  payment  of  rent  by 
personal  service,  and  made  all  rent  payable  in  money  or  in 
kind.  The  land  had  been  burthened  with  the  sole  support 
of  the  army.  It  was  then  freed  from  this  charge,  and  a  tax 
was  levied  upon  the  community.  Some  writers  have  sought  to 
define  RENT  as  the  difference  between  fertile  lands  and  those 
that  are  so  unproductive  as  barely  to  pay  the  cost  of  tillage. 
This  far-fetched  idea  is  contradicted  by  the  circumstance  that 
for  centuries  rent  was  paid  by  labour — the  personal  service 
of  the  vassal,  and  it  is  now  part  of  the  annual  produce  of  the 
soil,  inasmuch  as  land  will  be  unproductive  without  seed  and 
labour,  or  being  pastured  by  tame  animals,  the  representative 
of  labour  in  taming  and  tending  them.  Rent  is  usually  the 
labour  or  the  fruits  of  the  labour  of  the  occupant.  In  some 
cases  it  is  income  derived  from  the  labours  of  others.  A 
broad  distinction  exists  between  the  rent  of  land,  which  is  a 


182      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

portion  of  the  fruits  or  its  equivalent  in  money,  and  that  of 
improvements  and  houses,  which  is  an  exchange  of  the  labour 
of  the  occupant  given  as  payment  for  that  employed  in  effect- 
ing improvements  or  erecting  houses.  The  latter  described 
as  messuages  were  valued  in  1794  at  six  millions  per  annum; 
in  1814  they  were  nearly  fifteen  millions;  now  they  are  valued 
at  eighty  millions*  The  increase  represents  a  sum  consider- 
ably more  than  double  the  national  debt  of  Great  Britain,  and 
under  the  system  of  leases  the  improvements  will  pass  from 
the  industrial  to  the  landlord  class. 

It  seems  to  me  to  be  a  mistake  in  legislation  to  encourage 
a  system  by  which  these  two  funds  merge  into  one,  and  that 
the  income  arising  from  the  expenditure  of  the  working 
classes  is  handed  over  without  an  equivalent  to  the  tenants- 
in-fee.  This  proceeds  from  a  straining  of  the  maxim  that 
"  what  is  attached  to  the  freehold  belongs  to  the  freehold," 
and  was  made  law  when  both  Houses  of  Parliament  were 
essentially  landlord.  That  maxim  is  only  partially  true  :  corn 
is  as  much  attached  to  the  freehold  as  a  tree ;  yet  one  is  cut 
without  hindrance  and  the  other  is  prevented.  Potatoes,  tur- 
nips, and  such  tubers,  are  only  obtained  by  disturbing  the  free- 
hold. This  maxim  was  at  one  time  so  strained  that  it  applied 
to  fixtures,  but  recent  legislation  and  modern  discussions  have 
limited  the  rights  of  the  landlord  class  and  been  favourable  to 
the  occupier,  and  I  look  forward  to  such  alterations  in  our  laws 
as  will  secure  to  the  man  who  expends  his  labour  or  earnings 
in  improvements,  an  estate  in  perpetuo  therein,  as  I  think  no 
length  of  usor  of  that  which  is  a  man's  own — his  labour  or 
earnings — should  hand  over  their  representative  improvements 
to  any  other  person.  I  agree  with  those  writers  who  maintain 
that  it  is  prejudicial  to  the  State  that  the  rent  fund  should  be 

*  A   Parliamentary  return  gives  the  following  information  as  to  the  value  of 

lands  and  messuages  in  1814  and  1874  : 

1814-15.  1873-74. 

Lands,          ....        ^34.330,463  ;£49,9°6>866 

Messuages,  ....  14,895,130  80,726,502 

The  increase  in  the  value  of  land  is  hardly  equal  to  the  reduction  in  the  value  of 

gold,  while  the  increase  in  messuages  shows  the  enormous  expenditure  of  labour. 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         183 

enjoyed  by  a  comparatively  small  number  of  persons,  and  think 
it  would  be  advantageous  to  distrit5uTe~Tt,  by  increasing  the 
number  of  tenants-in-fee.  Natural  laws  forbid  middlemen,  who 
do  nothing  to  make  the  land  productive,  and  yet  subsist  upon 
the  labour  of  the  farmer,  and  receive  as  rent  part  of  the  produce 
of  his  toil.  The  land  belongs  to  the  State,  and  should  only  be 
subject  to  taxes,  either  by  personal  service  such  as  serving  in 
the  militia  or  yeomanry,  or  by  money  payments  to  the  State. 
Land  does  not  represent  capital,  but  the  improvements  upon 
it  do.  A  man  does  not  purchase  land.  He  buys  the  right  o 
possession.  In  any  transfer  of  land  there  is  no  locking  up  of 
capital,  because  one  man  receives  exactly  the  amount  the 
other  expends.  The  individual  may  lock  up  his  funds,  but  the 
nation  does  not.  Capital  is  not  money.  I  quote  a  definition 
from  a  previous  work  of  mine,  "The  Case  of  Ireland,"  p.  176 : 

"  Capital  stock  properly  signifies  the  means  of  subsistence  for  man, 
and  for  the  animals  subservient  to  his  use  while  engaged  in  the  pro- 
cess of  production.  The  jurisconsults  of  former  times  expressed  the 
idea  by  the  words  res  fungibiles,  by  which  they  meant  consumable 
commodities,  or  those  things  which  are  consumed  in  their  use,  for  the 
supply  of  man's  animal  wants,  as  contradistinguished  from  uncon- 
sumable  commodities,  which  latter  writers,  by  an  extension  of  the 
term,  in  a  figurative  sense,  have  called  fixed  capital." 

All  the  money  in  the  Bank  of  England  will  not  make  a 
single  four-pound  loaf.  Capital,  as  represented  by  con- 
sumable commodities,  is  the  product  of  labour  applied  to 
land,  or  the  natural  fruits  of  the  land  itself.  The  land  does 
not  become  either  more  or  less  productive  by  reason  of  the 
transfer  from  one  person  to  another ;  it  is  the  withdrawal  of 
labour  that  affects  its  productiveness. 

Wages  are  a  portion  of  the  value  of  the  products  of  a  joint 
combination  of  employer  and  employed.  The  former  advances 
from  time  to  time  as  wages  to  the  latter,  the  estimated  por- 
tion of  the  increase  arising  from  their  combined  operations  to 
which  he  may  be  entitled.  This  may  be  either  in  food  or  in 
money.  The  food  of  the  world  for  one  year  is  the  yield  at 


18-4     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

harvest ;  it  is  the  capital  stock  upon  which  mankind  exist  while 
engaged  in  the  operations  for  producing  food,  clothing,  and 
other  requisites  for  the  use  of  mankind,  until  nature  again 
replenishes  this  store.  Money  cannot  produce  food  ;  it  is  use- 
ful in  measuring  the  distribution  of  that  which  already  exists. 
The  grants  of  the  Crown  were  a  fee  or  reward  for  service 
rendered  ;  the  donee  became  tenant-in-fee  ;  being  a  reward,  it 
was  restricted  to  a  man  and  his  heirs-male  or  his  heirs-general ; 
in  default  of  heirs-male  or  heirs-general,  the  land  reverted  to 
the  Crown,  which  was  the  donor.  A  sale  to  third  parties 
does  not  affect  this  phase  of  the  question,  inasmuch  as  it  is  a 
principle  of  British  law  that  no  man  can  convey  to  another  a 
greater  estate  in  land  than  that  which  he  possesses  himself ; 
and  if  the  seller  only  held  the  land  as  tenant-in-fee  for  his  own 
life  and  that  of  his  heirs,  he  could  not  give  a  purchaser  that 
which  belonged  to  the  Crown,  the  reversion  on  default  of  heirs 
(see  Statute  De  Donis,  13  Edward  1.,  ante,  p.  136).  This  right 
of  the  sovereign,  or  rather  of  the  people,  has  not  been  asserted 
to  the  full  extent.  Many  noble  families  have  become  extinct, 
yet  the  lands  have  not  been  claimed,  as  they  should  have  been, 
for  the  nation. 

I  should  not  complete  my  review  of  the  subject  without 
referring  to  what  are  called  the  LAWS  OF  PRIMOGENITURE. 
I  fail  to  discover  any  such  law.  On  the  contrary,  I  find  that 
the  descent  of  most  of  the  land  of  England  is  under  the  law 
of  contract  by  deed  or  bequest,  and  that  it  is  only  in  case 
of  intestacy  that  the  courts  intervene  to  give  it  to  the  next 
heir.  This  arises  more  from  the  construction  the  judges  put 
upon  the  wishes  of  the  deceased,  than  upon  positive  enact- 
ment. When  a  man  who  has  the  right  of  bequeathing  his 
estate  among  his  descendants,  does  not  exercise  that  power,  it 
\is  considered  that  he  wishes  the  estate  to  go  undivided  to  the 
ri^xt  heir.  In  America  the  converse  takes  place,  a  man  can 
leave  all  his  land  to  one  ;  and,  if  he  fails  to  do  so,  it  is  divided. 
The  laws  relating  to  contracts  or  settlements,  allow  land  to 
be  settled  by  deed  upon  the  children  of  a  living  person,  but  it 
is  more  frequently  upon  the  grandchildren.  They  acquire 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         185 

the  power  of  sale,  which  is  by  the  contract  denied  to  their 
parents.  A  man  gives  to  his  grandchild  that  which  he  denies 
to  his  son.  This  cumbrous  process  works  disadvantageously, 
and  it  might  very  properly  be  altered  by  restricting  the  power 
of  settlement  or  bequest  to  living  persons,  and  not  allowing  it 
to  extend  to  those  who  are  unborn. 

It  is  not  a  little  curious  to  note  how  the  ideas  of  mankind 
return  to  their  original  channels,  after  having  been  diverted  for 
centuries.  The  system  of  landholding  in  the  most  ancient  races 
was  communal.  That  word,  and  its  derivative,  communism,  has 
latterly  had  a  bad  odour.  Yet  all  the  most  important  public 
works  are  communal.  All  joint-stock  companies,  whether  for 
banking,  trading,  or  extensive  works,  are  communes.  They 
hold  property  in  common,  and  merge  individual  in  general 
rights.  The  possession  of  land  by  communes  or  companies  is 
gradually  extending,  and  it  is  by  no  means  improbable  that  the 
ideas  which  governed  very  remote  times  may,  like  thecommunal 
joint-stock  system,  be  applied  more  extensively  to  landholding. 

It  may  not  be  unwise  to  review  the  grounds  that  we  have 
been  going  over,  and  to  glance  at  the  salient  points.  The 
ABORIGINAL  inhabitants  of  this  island  enjoyed  the  same  rights 
as  those  in  other  countries,  of  possessing  themselves  of  land 
unowned  and  unoccupied.  The  ROMANS  conquered,  and 
claimed  all  the  rights  the  natives  possessed,  and  levied  a 
tribute  for  the  use  of  the  lands.  Upon  the  retirement  of  the 
Romans,  after  an  occupancy  of  about  six  hundred  years,  the 
lands  reverted  to  the  aborigines,  but  they,  being  unable  to 
defend  themselves,  invited  the  SAXONS,  the  JUTES,  and  the 
ANGLES,  who  reduced  them  to  serfdom,  and  seized  upon  the 
land  which  they  considered  belonged  to  the  body  of  the 
conquerors,  but  was  allotted  to  individuals  by  the  Folc-gemot 
or  assembly  of  the  people,  and  a  race  of  Liber i  Homines  or 
freemen  arose,  who  paid  no  rent,  but  performed  service  to  the 
State  ;  during  their  sway  of  about  six  hundred  years  the  insti- 
tutions changed,  and  the  monarch,  as  representing  the  people, 
claimed  the  right  of  granting  the  possession  of  land  seized  for 
treason  by  boc  or  charter.  The  NORMAN  invasion  found  a 


186      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

large  body  of  the  Saxon  landholders  in  armed  opposition  to 
William,  and  when  they  were  defeated,  he  seized  upon  their 
land  and  gave  it  to  his  followers,  and  then  arose  the  term 
terra  Regis,  "  the  land  of  the  king,"  instead  of  the  term  folc 
land,  "  the  land  of  the  people  ; "  but  a  large  portion  of  the 
realm  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  Liberi  Homines  or  free- 
men. The  Norman  barons  gave  possession  of  part  of  their 
lands  to  their  followers,  hence  arose  the  vassals  who  paid  rent 
to  their  lord  by  personal  service,  while  the  Freemen  held  by 
service  to  the  Crown.  In  the  wars  of  the  PLANTAGENETS 
the  freemen  seem  to  have  disappeared,  and  vassalage  was 
substituted,  the  principal  vassals  being  freeholders.  The  de- 
scendants of  the  aborigines  regained  their  freedom.  The  pos- 
session of  land  was  only  given  for  life,  and  it  was  preceded  by 
homage  to  the  Crown,  fealty  to  the  lord,  investiture  following 
the  ceremony.  The  TUDOR  sovereigns  abolished  livery  and 
retainers,  but  did  not  secure  the  rights  of  the  men-at-arms 
or  replace  them  in  their  position  of  freemen.  The  chief  lords 
converted  the  payment  of  rent  by  service  into  payment  in 
money  ;  this  led  to  wholesale  evictions,  and  necessitated  the 
establishment  of  the  poor  laws.  The  STUARTS  surrendered 
the  remaining  charges  upon  land  ;  but  on  the  death  of  one 
sovereign,  and  the  expulsion  of  another,  the  validity  of  patents 
from  the  Crown  became  doubtful.  The  PRESENT  system  of 
landholding  is  the  outcome  of  the  Tudor  ideas.  But  the 
Crown  has  never  abandoned  the  claim  asserted  in  the  statute 
of  Edward  I.,  that  all  land  belongs  to  the  sovereign  as  repre- 
senting the  people,  and  that  individuals  hold  but  do  not  own 
it ;  and  upon  this  sound  and  legal  principle  the  State  takes 
land  from  one  and  gives  it  to  another,  compensating  for  the 
loss  arising  from  being  dispossessed. 

I  have  now  concluded  my  brief  sketch  of  the  facts  which 
seemed  to  me  most  important  in  tracing  the  history  of  LAND- 
HOLDING  IN  ENGLAND,  and  laid  before  you  not  only  the  most 
vital  changes,  but  also  the  principles  which  underlay  them ;  and 
I  shall  have  failed  in  conveying  the  ideas  of  my  own  mind  if  I 
have  not  shown  you  that  at  least  from  the  Scandinavian  or 


THE  HISTORY  OF  LANDHOLDING  IN  ENGLAND.         187 

Anglo-Saxon  invasion,  the  ownership  of  land  rested  either 
in  the  people,  or  the  Crown  as  representing  the  people,  that 
individual  proprietorship  of  land  is  not  only  unknown,  but 
repugnant,  to  the  principles  of  the  British  Constitution,  that 
the  largest  estate  a  subject  can  have  is  tenancy-in-fee,  and 
that  it  is  a  holding  and  not  an  owning  of  the  soil ;  and  I 
cannot  conceal  from  you,  the  conviction  which  has  impressed 
my  mind,  after  much  study  and  some  personal  examination  of 
the  state  of  proprietary  occupants  on  the  Continent,  that  the 
best  interests  of  the  nation,  both  socially,  morally,  and  mate- 
rially, will  be  promoted  by  a  very  large  increase  in  the  number 
of  tenants-in-fee ;  which  can  be  attained  by  the  extension  of 
principles  of  legislation  now  in  active  operation.  All  that  is 
necessary  is,  to  extend  the  provisions  of  the  Land  Clauses 
Act,  which  apply  to  railways  and  such  objects,  to  tenants  in 
possession  ;  to  make  them  "  promoters "  under  that  Act ;  to 
treat  their  outlay  for  the  improvement  of  the  soil  and  the 
greater  production  of  food  as  a  public  outlay  ;  and  thus  to  re- 
store to  England  a  class  which  corresponds  with  the  Peasant 
Proprietors  of  the  Continent — the  Freemen  or  Liberi  Homines 
of  Anglo-Saxon  times,  whose  rights  were  solemnly  guaranteed 
by  the  55th  William  I.,  and  whose  existence  would  be  the 
glory  of  the  country  and  the  safeguard  of  its  institutions. 

P.S. — Since  this  paper  was  read,  the  Land  Act  of  1875  has 
passed.  It  recognises  the  difference  between  land  granted  by 
the  State,  and  improvements  which  represent  labour;  it  asserts 
the  separate  estate  of  each,  and  abrogates  the  erroneous  maxim, 
that  "  what  is  attached  to  the  freehold  belongs  to  the  freehold." 
Under  the  old  law,  it  was  assumed  that  all  improvements, 
whether  of  a  permanent  or  temporary  character,  belonged  to 
the  landlord,  but  the  Act  entirely  reversed  the  presumption, 
thus  setting  aside  one  of  the  prerogatives  claimed  by  the 
tenant-in-fee,  and  giving  the  possessor  an  estate  in  the  im- 
provements he  effected,  and  restricting  the  landlord's  estate 
to  the  lands  and  the  improvements  thereon,  when  the  tenancy 
commenced. 


ORIENTATION  OF  ANCIENT  TEMPLES  AND 
PLACES  OF  WORSHIP. 

BY  CAPTAIN  CHARLES  WARREN,  R.E., 

Fellow  of  the  Royal  Historical  Society. 

ON  some  ancient  fragments  are  represented  two  or  more 
historical  sequences,  forming  together  one  picture,  such  as  the 
scene  of  the  temptation  of  Eve  in  conjunction  with  the  expul- 
sion from  Paradise  ;  and  from  these  we  may  obtain  an  idea  as 
to  the  tendency  and  power  of  the  untutored  mind  to  take  an 
instantaneous  many-sided  view  of  the  subject  it  contemplates, 
and  it  may  assist  us  in  realising  that  though  our  mental  view 
is  more  extended  and  clearer  than  that  of  early  races,  yet  it 
may  also  be  much  more  limited  in  lateral  range.  That  the 
educated  mind  does  not  assume  power  over  the  exercise  of 
certain  faculties,  there  can  be  no  doubt ;  for  this  we  have  only 
to  look  into  matters  of  everyday  life :  to  see  the  unlettered 
mechanic  guess,  or,  rather,  instinctively  calculate,  the  weight 
of  materials  ;  to  hear  the  shopwoman,  innocent  of  figures,  total 
up  her  gains  and  losses,  or  enumerate  her  stock-in-trade  with 
a  rapidity  and  with  a  precision  which  could  not  be  exceeded 
if  all  the  appliances  of  science  had  been  employed.  And  we 
again  see  it  in  the  power  which  the  Indian  savage  or  Euro- 
pean trapper  possesses  in  tracking  his  way  through  the  forest 
by  signs  and  method  of  reasoning  hardly  intelligible  to  those 
whose  minds  are  more  cultivated. 

It  would  help  us  much  in  "  the  proper  study  of  mankind  " 
if  we  could  accord  to  the  ancient  mind  credit  for  possessing 
certain  faculties,  matured,  which  in  our  own  mind  have  been 
pressed  down  and  dwarfed  by  the  cultivation  of  others ;  if  we 


ORIENTATION  OF  ANCIENT  TEMPLES,  ETC.  189 

could  perceive  "  how  apt  we  all  are  to  look  at  the  manners  of 
ancient  times  through  the  false  medium  of  our  everyday 
associations ;  how  difficult  we  find  it  to  strip  our  thoughts  of 
their  modern  garb  and  to  escape  from  the  thick  atmosphere 
of  prejudice  in  which  custom  and  habit  have  enveloped  us ; 
and  yet,  unless  we  take  a  comprehensive,  an  extended  view 
of  the  objects  of  archaeological  speculation — unless  we  can 
look  upon  ancient  customs  with  the  eyes  of  the  ancients, 
unless  we  can  transport  ourselves  in  the  spirit  to  other  lands 
and  other  times,  and  sun  ourselves  in  the  clear  light  of  bygone 
days,  all  our  conception  of  what  was  done  by  the  men  who 
have  long  ceased  to  be  must  be  dim,  uncertain,  and  un- 
satisfactory, and  all  our  reproductions  as  soulless  and  unin- 
structive  as  the  scattered  fragments  of  a  broken  statue" 
(Niebuhr). 

May  we  not,  with  this  thought  in  view,  allow  that  there 
was  something  more  in  the  old  heathen  religions  than  the 
bare  worship  of  sticks  and  stones,  and  while  fully  believing 
that  the  different  races  became  most  depraved  in  their  religi- 
ous ceremonies  until 

"  Egypt  chose  an  onion  for  a  god," 

and  without  condoning  their  offences,  may  we  not  recognise 
throughout  their  degradation  a  double  view  of  the  Supreme 
Deity,  a  reverence  towards  Him  as  one  God  and  a  worship  of 
Him  as  many,  even  as  it  is  related  of  the  Hebrews  at  one  time, 

"  They  feared  the  Lord  and  served  their  own  gods." 

Indeed,  if  we  may  not  do  this,  and  are  to  judge  the  heathen 
by  their  language  alone,  we  shall  ourselves  be  liable  to  the 
same  harsh  treatment  in  after-ages,  for  do  not  we,  with  the 
utmost  sincerity,  make  use  of  such  terms  as  Light  of  Light, 
Sun  of  Righteousness : 

"  Hail,  holy  Light,  offspring  of  Heaven  first-born, 
Or  of  the  Eternal  co-eternal  beam ; " 

and  again  our  abhorrence  of  the  powers  of  darkness :  all 
which  might  be  brought  against  us  as  evidence  of  sun- 


190      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

worship  :  nay  it  is  even  recorded  that  the  early  Christians 
actually  were  accused  of  worshipping  the  solar  disc  on  account 
of  such  customs. 

There  is  evidence  showing  that  the  Hebrews  did  not  exclu- 
sively possess  God's  name ;  with  them  the  whole  people 
possessed  that  grand  knowledge,  with  the  heathen  the  men 
of  God  were  isolated  and  few,  but  religious  life  was  not  quite 
extinct ;  the  great  Shekinah  shone  in  the  tabernacle  of  the 
Hebrews,  but  there  were  also  faint  lights  glimmering  among 
the  heathen  around,  reflections  of,  or  emanations  from  it. 

Without  this  belief,  our  examination  into  the  subject  of 
orientation  of  temples  comes  to  nought ;  we  might  simply 
record : 

"  So  once  of  yore,  each  reasonable  frog 
Swore  faith  and  fealty  to  his  sovereign  '  log.' " 

Happily  for  us  it  is  otherwise.  The  examination  into  heathen 
religions  brings  to  light  so  many  traces  of  Divine  origin  in 
numberless  instances  as  to  assist  the  student  in  more  fully 
comprehending  and  believing  the  Mosaic  records,  and  suggests 
a  common  origin. 

As  far  as  we  are  concerned  personally,  we  owe  the  heathen 
a  debt  of  gratitude ;  for  while  on  the  one  side  we  have  to 
thank  the  Hebrews  for  bringing  down  to  us  a  religion  pure 
and  undefiled,  we  have  on  the  other  to  be  grateful  to  the 
heathen  for  having,  incidentally  to  their  rites,  so  fully  developed 
the  arts  and  sciences,  and  handed  over  to  us  poetry,  sculpture, 
painting,  architecture,  music,  dancing,  the  drama,  astronomy, 
and  whatever  else  is  beautiful  or  useful  in  everyday  life. 

"  And  Satan,  bowing  low, 
As  to  superior  spirits  is  wont  in  heaven." 

In  our  social  intercourse  we  are  accustomed  to  turn  our 
faces  towards  those  to  whom  we  address  ourselves,  and  even 
in  our  religious  ceremonies  we  do  in  many  places  of  worship 
retain  the  ancient  custom  of  facing  in  a  particular  direction 
during  portions  of  the  service ;  and  notwithstanding  that  we 
know  that  God  is  as  much  in  one  place  as  in  another — omni- 


ORIENTATION  OF  ANCIENT  TEMPLES,  ETC.  191 

present — yet  all  Christians  are  enjoined  to  address  Him  as  in 
heaven. 

In  the  East,  at  the  present  day,  a  kibleh  is  a  needful  acces- 
sory to  the  prayer;  and  a  Mohammedan,  for  example,  could  not 
with  equanimity  repeat  it  did  he  not  know  the  direction  of 
the  Kaaba  towards  which  he  should  face. 

It  is  therefore  no  matter  of  surprise  to  find  that  in  early 
times  also  this  custom  generally  prevailed ;  in  days  when 
visible  manifestations  of  the  Deity  were  apparent,  and  when 
particular  places  were  considered  to  be  the  gates  of  heaven. 
The  expression,  "Turn  unto  the  Lord  thy  God,"  is  itself  indi- 
cative of  this  practice,  and  we  may  without  doubt  assume  the 
general  use  of  a  kibleh,  and  proceed  to  the  question  as  to  its 
nature  and  position  as  regards  the  earth's  surface.  In  this 
examination  we  shall  ascertain  that  in  early  days  it  was  the 
eastern  portion  of  the  heavens  that  God  was  supposed  more 
particularly  to  honour  with  His  presence,  and  from  whence  He 
sent  His  glory  upon  earth. 

References  to  this  both  from  the  Old  and  New  Testaments 
may  here  be  given : 

"  And,  behold,  the  glory  of  the  God  of  Israel  came  from  the 
way  of  the  east."  Again : 

"  For  as  the  lightning  cometh  out  of  the  east  and  shineth 
even  unto  the  west,  so  shall  also  the  coming  of  the  Son  of 
Man  be." 

It  may  be  objected  that  although  we  can  at  all  times  during 
the  day  and  night  throughout  the  year  point  out  the  north 
and  south,  yet  that  the  terms  east  and  west  cannot  be  applied 
to  the  heavens,  because  at  each  hour  of  the  day  and  on  each 
day  of  the  year,  the  east  will  be  represented  to  us  on  earth  by 
a  different  portion  of  the  starry  firmament ;  but  we  must 
recollect  that  both  in  the  Pentateuch  and  in  the  heathen  writ- 
ings the  conception  of  the  universe  was  very  different  to  what 
it  is  at  present,  for  with  the  ancients  the  earth  was  the  centre 
of  the  round  world,  the  heavens  forming  the  solid  and  upper 
crust,  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  being  entirely  subsidiary  and 
accessories  to  the  flat  fixed  earth. 


192      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

It  is  obvious,  therefore,  viewing  the  subject  through  the 
medium  of  the  ancient  cosmogony,  that  the  east  was  a  fixed 
and  finite  portion  of  the  solid  heavens,  where  the  sun  appeared 
at  early  dawn  only  to  tarry  for  a  while,  and  that  thus  the  east 
could  be  regarded  by  the  ancients  as  the  peculiar  abode  of 
God's  glory,  as  a  permanently  fixed  portion  of  the  round 
world,  and  not  necessarily  with  any  reference  to  the  circum- 
stance that  it  was  here  the  sun  first  rose. 

Dr  Mosheim  says :  "  Before  the  coming  of  Christ,  all  the 
eastern  nations  performed  divine  worship  with  their  faces 
turned  to  that  part  of  the  heavens  where  the  sun  displays  his 
rising  beams.  This  custom  was  founded  upon  a  general 
opinion  that  God,  whose  essence  they  looked  upon  to  be  light, 
and  whom  they  considered  to  be  circumscribed  within  certain 
limits,  dwelt  in  that  part  of  the  firmament  from  whence  He 
sends  forth  the  sun." 

Spencer  likewise,  after  stating  the  ancient  custom,  says : 
"  Were  it  left  to  the  judgment  of  men  to  decide  which  way 
God  should  be  worshipped,  the  east  would  certainly  have  the 
preference." 

These  opinions  are  certainly  borne  out  by  all  the  early 
heathen  who  treat  on  the  subject,  some  of  whose  writings 
will  subsequently  be  referred  to.  The  earliest  records  among 
the  Greek  writers  are,  however,  comparatively  modern  when 
we  search  the  history  of  mankind  ;  and  in  the  absence  of 
the  rich  literature  of  Egypt  and  Assyria,  now  lost  to  us,  we 
fall  back  upon  their  scarcely  less  valuable  libraries  in  stone 
and  bricks,  their  tablets  and  monuments,  and  finally  upon  the 
Hebrew  records.  The  Indian  Veda  is  also  not  without  its 
claim  to  be  placed  among  the  ancients'  records. 

There  are  not  wanting  those  who  would  fain  dismiss  the 
subject,  with  the  opinion  that  the  sunrise  first  originated  the 
eastern  attitude,  and  others,  failing  the  sun,  would  suppose  it 
to  have  originated  in  the  direction  of  the  Garden  of  Eden, 
from  whence  our  first  parents  were  driven.  I  apprehend,  how- 
ever, that  though  the  east  as  a  kibleh  may  have  to  do  with 
the  dawn  of  day  and  the  position  of  Eden,  yet  it  also  means 


ORIENTATION  OF  ANCIENT  TEMPLES,  ETC.  193 

much  more  than  this.  More  wondrous  occurrences  are  alluded 
to  in  holy  writ  than  the  dawn  of  day,  or  even  than  the  posi- 
tion of  the  Garden  of  Eden.  It  is  recorded  that  God's  voice 
walked  with  Adam,  appeared  to  Abraham  and  the  patriarchs; 
that  the  elements  were  controlled  by  Him.  Is  it  possible, 
then,  for  us  to  suppose  that  with  this  belief  the  leaders  of  the 
people  should  have  systematically  ignored  the  Creator  and 
bowed  themselves  to  His  works !  That  some  of  them  did  so, 
we  know  well,  and  that  they  were  prone  to  do  so,  we  also  know ; 
but  it  is  impossible  to  think  that  the  rules  which  forbade  them 
to  worship  false  gods  should  have  been  founded  on  that  self- 
same worship.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  evident  that  those  who 
walked  with  God  should  have  wished  to  turn  in  prayer  to 
that  spot  whence  He  would  most  likely  be  made  manifest. 

In  brief,  the  key  to  the  subject  is  not  difficult  to  grasp  and 
use,  for  it  appears  to  lie  in  the  comprehension  of  the  method 
adopted  in  the  manifestation  of  that  Shekinah  of  which  we 
read  not  only  in  Hebrew  records,  but  of  the  appearance  and 
working  of  which  there  are  reflections  also  in  the  heathen 
writings. 

The  key  in  our  possession,  we  shall  be  able  faintly  to  point 
out  how  in  early  days  the  Shekinah  in  the  east  was  the  general 
kibleh ;  how,  when  the  sun  became  a  symbolical  emblem,  the 
Shekinah  came  down  and  dwelt  among  the  Hebrews,  and  re- 
mained still  their  kibleh,  until  finally  it  fled  by  way  of  the  east. 

In  doing  this,  I  would  allude  to  many  affinities  between  the 
heathen  and  Hebrew  forms  of  worship,  and  how  the  former 
appear  to  have  been  derived  from  the  latter. 

Looking  back  to  the  earliest  record  we  possess,  we  find  our 
first  parents,  Adam  and  Eve,  located  in  a  garden  eastward,  in 
a  district  or  country  called  Eden,  the  precise  position  of  which 
has  not  yet  been  ascertained,  although  various  hypotheses 
on  the  subject  have  been  advanced. 

We  shall  probably  not  be  far  wrong  in  considering  Eden  to 
have  been  that  large  tract  of  country  lying  between  the  plains 
of  Assyria  and  the  river  Indus,  subsequently  occupied  by  the 
Medes  and  Arians,  and  in  tht  present  day  by  the  Persians, 

N 


194      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Afghans,  etc.,  between  Turkey  and  Hindostan.     The  Garden 
of  Eden  would  thus  have  been  located  in  the  Hindoo  Koosh  ; 
or  in  Cashmere,  at  the  present  time  one  of  the  most  fruitful 
districts  of  the  world. 
Milton  tells  us — 

"  Eden  stretched  her  line 
From  Auran  eastward  to  the  royal  towers 
Of  great  Seleucia,  built  by  Grecian  kings  ; " 

thus  circumscribing  the  district  and  placing  the  garden  in 
Assyria. 

After  the  fall,  our  first  parents  appear  to  have  been  driven  out 
by  the  eastern  side  of  the  Garden,  yet  still  to  have  remained 
in  the  district  called  Eden  in  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  for  we 
find  Cain  shortly  after  driven  out  to  the  east  of  Eden  to  the 
land  of  Nod,  which  some  identify  as  Hindostan  and  others  as 
China. 

We  have  few  indications  of  the  form  of  worship  in  these 
primitive  times;  probably  it  consisted  chiefly  in  calling  on 
God's  name  alone,  but  yet  we  can  observe  indications  of  the 
germs  which,  under  the  fostering  care  of  God,  ripened  into  the 
religion  we  now  possess,  and  which,  when  left  alone,  increased 
as  a  fungus  into  all  misshapen  forms  of  idolatry  more  or  less 
(in  human  eyes)  iniquitous,  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
people  and  the  climate  of  the  country  inhabited. 

Of  the  first  sacrifices  we  hear :  "  Abel,  he  also  brought  of  the 
firstlings  of  his  flock,  and  of  the  fat  thereof.  And  the  Lord  had 
respect  unto  Abel,  and  to  his  offering."  A  dim  memory  of 
this  is  to  be  found  in  after-days  in  the  Theogony  of  Hesiod, 
one  of  the  earliest  Greek  records,  where  we  are  told  how  the 
gods  and  men  contended  at  Mecone,  in  which  contest  the 
artful  Prometheus  persuaded  cloud-compelling  Jove  to  take 
the  white  fat  as  an  offering  in  preference  to  the  flesh,  and 
Jove  in  revenge  introduced  to  mankind  deceitful  woman,  with 
her  box  full  of  domestic  troubles  and  woes  to  henceforth 
render  the  life  of  mortal  man  most  wretched. 

No  mention  is  there  of  the  erection  of  an  altar  to  the  Lord 
until  after  the  deluge,  when  "  Noah  builded  an  altar  unto  the 


ORIENTATION  OF  ANCIENT  TEMPLES,  ETC.  1  95 

Lord,  .  .  .  and  offered  burnt-offerings  on  the  altar.  And  the 
Lord  smelled  a  sweet  savour."  This  allusion  to  smelling  a 
sweet  savour  is  a  constant  form  of  expression  in  the  Hebrew 
writings,  although  it  was  well  known  that  the  offering  of  the 
sacrifice  was  the  acceptable  gift  to  the  Lord.  The  heathen, 
on  the  other  hand,  have  completely  materialised  the  term,  by 
supposing  that  it  was  the  odour  from  the  burnt-sacrifices 
ascending  to  the  heavens  and  tickling  the  nostrils  of  the  gods, 
which  was  so  pleasing  to  them. 

The  position  of  the  mountain  on  which  the  ark  rested  is 
hardly  a  matter  for  present  discussion,  and  I  will  content  my- 
self with  saying  that  it  would  appear  to  be  eastward  of  Baby- 
lon, and  not  to  the  north  as  suggested  by  Josephus. 

In  our  next  view  of  worship,  we  are  brought  in  contact  with 
that  great  man  among  the  ancients,  El  Khalil,  the  friend  of 
God,  whose  name  and  doings  have  come  down  to  us  through 
so  many  channels  besides  the  records  of  his  own  race  ;  and  who 
is  supposed  by  Josephus  to  have  invented  the  monotheistic 
religion,  and  to  have  attempted  to  introduce  it  among  his 
Chaldean  brethren. 

There  is  evidence,  however,  that  Abraham,  in  whose 

"Seed 
All  nations  shall  be  blessed," 

had  only  carried  on  the  simple  religion  of  his  forefathers,  from 
which  his  people  appear  to  have  receded.  By  reason  of  his 
grand  character  he  was  fitted  to  be  trusted  by  the  Lord  with 
the  scheme  for  the  ultimate  emancipation  of  the  human  race. 
He  not  only  saw  visions  and  dreamed  dreams,  but  he  is 
described  as  walking  with  God  ;  and  his  petition  to  God 
concerning  the  saving  of  the  cities  of  the  plain  is  the  first 
supplication  of  man  toward  God,  recorded.  In  this  instance 
we  find  mankind  advanced  another  step  towards  a  form  of 
worship.  Abraham  appears  as  a  suppliant  before  the  Lord, 
and  his  sacrifices  are  consumed  by  fire  from  heaven  :  for 
having  laid  the  pieces  of  heifer  and  goat  upon  the  altar,  "  it 
came  to  pass,  that,  when  the  sun  went  down,  and  it  was  dark, 


196      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

behold  a  smoking  furnace,  and  a  burning  lamp  that  passed 
between  those  pieces."  This  sign  of  Divine  acceptance  of  sacri- 
fice was  one  of  the  special  means  by  which  the  true  God  dis- 
tinguished His  worship  from  that  of  the  false  gods  ;  yet  even 
in  this  there  are  not  wanting  indications  of  similar  manifesta- 
tions among  the  heathen,  which,  however,  possibly  were  only 
handed  across  from  Hebrew  records. 

The  memory  of  Abraham  is  still  so  green  among  many 
eastern  nations,  that  legends  concerning  him  are  numerous. 
The  Arabs  have  one  representing  him  in  a  doubtful  frame  of 
mind,  selecting  as  his  Lord  one  by  one  from  among  the  host 
of  heaven,  and  rejecting  each  as  he  finds  its  power  finite, 
until,  ultimately,  he  turns  to  Him  who  created  all.  Evidence 
of  this  same  frame  of  thought  among  the  Peruvians  is  given 
by  Garcilaso,  by  whom  the  following  words  (translated  from 
the  Spanish)  are  put  in  the  mouth  of  Huyana  Cupac,  Child  of 
the  Sun : 

"  Many  maintain  that  the  sun  lives,  and  is  the  maker  of  all  things : 
but  whosoever  desired  to  do  a  thing  completely  must  continue  at  his 
task  without  intermission.  Now,  many  things  are  done  when  the  sun 
is  absent,  therefore  he  cannot  be  the  creator  of  all.  It  may  also  be 
doubted  whether  the  sun  be  really  living,  for  though  always  moving 
round  in  a  circle,  he  is  never  weary.  If  the  sun  were  a  living  thing 
like  ourselves  he  would  become  weary ;  and  if  he  were  free  he  would 
doubtless  continue  moving  into  parts  of  heaven  in  which  we  never 
see  him.  The  sun  is  like  an  ox  bound  by  a  rope,  being  always 
obliged  to  move  in  the  same  circle,  or  like  an  arrow,  which  can 
only  go  where  it  is  sent,  and  not  where  it  may  itself  wish  to  go  " 
(Humboldt). 

The  Arabs  also  consider  Abraham  to  be  the  founder  of  the 
Kaaba  at  Mecca ;  whatever  its  origin,  it  doubtless  dates  from 
remote  antiquity,  and  there  will  be  occasion  to  allude  to  it 
when  speaking  of  the  Jewish  tabernacle. 

As  we  pass  on  towards  the  latter  end  of  Abraham's  life,  we 
find  him  planting  groves  and  calling  on  the  name  of  the  Lord 
therein,  and  it  is  remarkable  that  this  practice  of  using  groves 
as  places  of  worship — innocent  in  itself — became,  after  the 


ORIENTATION  OF  ANCIENT  TEMPLES,  ETC.  197 

time  of  Abraham,  so  rapidly  degraded  in  the  depraved  ser- 
vices of  idolatry,  not  only  among  theCanaanites,  but  also  among 
the  nations  of  the  world  at  large,  that  when  the  Hebrews 
returned  to  the  Promised  Land,  after  their  sojourn  in  Egypt, 
one  of  the  most  peremptory  injunctions  they  received  was 
to  cut  down  these  groves  of  the  heathen  ;  and  they  themselves 
were  interdicted  that  form  of  worship  (the  use  of  groves) 
which  with  their  forefather  Abraham  was  not  only  harmless 
but  right.  The  practice  of  worshipping  on  high  places  also 
obtained  from  the  earliest  times — Abraham  and  his  descendants 
built  altars  on  high  places  with  approval  of  the  Lord.  Among 
the  heathen  this  custom  got  mixed  up  with  the  most  revolting 
rites  and  ceremonies ;  yet  we  only  find  the  worship  on  high 
places  forbidden  to  the  Hebrews  in  a  qualified  degree,  with 
an  implied  permission  of  it  so  long  as  the  site  for  the  position 
of  the  tabernacle  was  not  settled.  The  Hebrews  were  told  to 
root  out  high  places  of  the  heathen,  and  the  inference  I  draw 
is,  that  a  certain  amount  of  sanctity  was  possessed  by  these 
high  places,  on  account  of  their  being  the  scenes  of  early 
worship  of  the  true  God,  which  sanctity  the  heathen  had 
profaned.  Indeed,  from  the  giving  of  the  Law  on  Mount 
Sinai  by  Moses,  until  his  reappearance  on  the  Mount  of 
Transfiguration,  there  is  a  continuous  series  of  remarkable 
events  occurring  on  high  lands  and  mountain  tops. 

The  first  glimpse  of  that  abominable  system  of  the 
Canaanites,  the  offering  up  of  their  children  to  their  gods, 
is  given  us  in  the  temptation  of  Abraham  ;  if  it  be  not  itself 
the  incident  which  led  the  perverted  heathen  to  that  practice. 
The  event  is  supposed  by  some  to  have  taken  place  on  Mount 
Moriah,  the  site  of  the  future  abode  t5f  God's  name.  Josephus 
gives  this  as  the  site,  and  also  states  that  the  city  of  the  Jebusites 
was  the  Salem  of  Melchisedek;  but  an  attempt  to  locate  both 
these  sites  at  Jerusalem  leads  to  the  following  dilemma : 
Moriah  is  just  outside  the  stronghold  of  the  Jebusites,  and  it 
can  hardly  be  surmised  that  Abraham  took  his  son  up  to 
sacrifice  him  on  a  prominent  position  just  outside  the  gates 
of  the  royal  city  of  Melchisedek,  unless,  indeed,  we  are  to 


198      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

suppose  that  Moriah  was  the  usual  place  for  offering  children 
to  Moloch.  The  suggestion  that  the  threshing-floor  of 
Araunah,  the  site  of  the  temple,  could  have  been  the  scene  of 
the  immolation  of  human  victims  to  false  gods  is,  however, 
quite  repugnant  to  the  sense  of  readers  of  history,  and  there- 
fore we  are  fain  to  conclude  that  both  those  events  could  not 
have  taken  place  at  Jerusalem  ;  either  that  Moriah  is  not  the 
scene  of  Abraham's  sacrifice,  or  that  Jerusalem  is  not  the 
Salem  of  Melchisedek. 

Passing  on  to  the  life  of  Jacob,  we  have  again  before  us 
acts,  the  commemoration  of  which  in  after-years  appear  to 
have  given  rise  to  various  forms  of  idolatrous  worship.  Jacob, 
on  passing  through  Luz,  on  the  highland  of  the  Holy  Land, 
sleeps  with  a  stone  for  his  pillow,  and  seeing  in  a  vision  a 
ladder  set  up  on  earth  reaching  to  heaven,  he  anoints  this 
stone  and  names  it  the  house  of  God,  the  Gate  of  Heaven. 
There  is  a  Jewish  tradition  that  this  stone  was  in  after-years 
brought  to  Jerusalem  and  served  as  a  base  for  the  ark,  and 
that  this  was  the  "  pierced  stone  "  which  the  Jews  were  in  the 
habit  of  anointing  and  lamenting  over  after  the  destruction  of 
the  temple  by  Titus.  It  is  possible  also  that  this  may  be 
the  stone  spoken  of  as  being  found  in  the  sanctum  of  the 
second  temple. 

This  fits  in  exactly  with  the  present  Moslem  tradition,  in 
which  the  scene  of  Jacob's  dream  is  transferred  to  the  Sakhrah 
of  the  noble  sanctuary,  thus  giving  a  good  reason  for  Mahomet 
having  chosen  this  site  for  his  ascent  to  heaven  in  his  parallel 
dream  to  that  of  Jacob.  There  is  now  at  Jerusalem  a  stone 
called  the  "  little  Sakhrah,"  in  the  northern  part  of  the  Noble 
Sanctuary,  which  may  possibly  be  the  identical  stone  which 
Jacob  set  up  at  Bethel.  We  have  other  accounts  of  stones 
having  been  anointed  in  like  manner  ;  and  among  the  heathen 
the  practice  also  came  into  vogue.  It  is  not  difficult  to 
perceive  how  quickly  the  adoration  of  God  at  the  stone  may 
have  become  the  worship  of  the  stone  itself,  and  it  is  certain 
that  the  worship  of  stones — Bcetylia — became  a  practice  among 
the  Chaldeans,  Arabians,  and  especially  the  Syrophcenicians. 


ORIENTATION  OF  ANCIENT  TEMPLES,  ETC.  199 

The  very  name  has  a  close  resemblance  to  Bethel  (though  there 
are  some  who  demur  at  this),  and  it  is  at  least  remarkable 
that,  around  the  spot  where  Jacob  anointed  this  one,  so  many 
other  sacred  stones  should  be  found  in  after-years  among  the 
heathen  ;  one  of  the  most  singular  of  which  was  the  luminous 
green  stone  of  Tyre,  a  city  which  became  great  after  the 
return  of  the  Hebrews  to  the  Promised  Land.  The  black 
stone,  or  meteorolite,  so  sacred  to  the  worshippers  of  all 
ages,  in  the  Kaaba  at  Mecca  is  not  the  least  renowned  of 
such. 

We  now  approach  that  period  when  the  promise  of  God  to 
Abraham  began  to  be  fulfilled,  when  the  Hebrews,  having 
increased  as  the  sands  of  the  sea,  are  to  be  conducted  into 
the  Promised  Land  to  overthrow  and  uproot  that  most  detest- 
able of  false  worships  in  which  the  Canaanites,  among  all  the 
descendants  of  Ham,  appear  to  have  been  pre-eminent.  For 
this  purpose  the  people  must  be  educated  to  a  higher  form  of 
religion  than  they  then  possessed,  it  being  not  enough  that 
their  leaders  only  should  possess  the  religion,  as  among  the 
heathen,  it  was  necessary  that  all  should  possess  the  know- 
ledge of  God.  In  this  we  have  the  first  appearance  of  the 
introduction  of  religion  generally  among  the  masses  of  the 
people,  which  has  gradually  done  so  much  to  ameliorate 
the  condition  of  mankind.  In  order  that  this  education 
should  be  thorough,  they  were  kept  as  bondsmen  in  Egypt, 
and  apart  by  themselves  for  forty  years  in  the  wilderness;  and 
though  they  are  represented  to  us  throughout  as  a  stubborn, 
wayward  people,  we  cannot  but  suppose  that  the  timid  rabble 
who  fled  from  Egypt  were  disciplined  very  considerably  before 
they  were  able  to  menace  the  warlilce  inhabitants  of  Canaan. 
The  Shekinah,  which  appeared  to  Moses  in  the  burning  bush, 
became  as  a  cloud  by  day  and  pillar  by  night  during  their 
wanderings,  and  eventually,  on  the  erection  of  the  tabernacle, 
overshadowed  it  and  dwelt  among  them,  and  from  henceforth 
they  became  a  people  specially  under  God's  protection,  and 
were  kept  in  check  by  most  stringent  rules. 

Let  us  pause  awhile  to  consider  the  shape  and  construction 


200      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

of  that  remarkable  kibleh  or  place  of  worship  which  in  process 
of  time  influenced  the  form  of  the  temple  of  Solomon,  and 
through  it  the  later  heathen  temples  and  Christian  churches. 
For  what  was  Solomon's  temple  but  the  tabernacle  in  stone, 
and  what  form  had  all  the  later  Mediterranean  and  Assyrian 
temples  but  that  of  the  temple  of  Solomon. 

It  has  been  assumed  by  some  that  the  Hebrews  derived  the 
shape  of  the  tabernacle  from  Egyptian  models  ;  but,  though 
there  can  be  little  doubt  that  ancient  nation  (Egypt)  in  early 
times  had  temples  of  very  simple  construction,  and  without 
images,  yet  there  is  evidence  that  the  shepherd  kings  (previous 
to  the  advent  of  Joseph  in  Egypt)  had  ruthlessly  destroyed 
the  temples  then  existing  to  such  an  extent  that  with  one 
single  exception  they  have  all  disappeared. 

During  the  times  of  the  shepherd  kings  and  the  eighteenth 
and  nineteenth  dynasties,  when  the  civilisation  of  Egypt  had 
reached  its  highest  pitch  and  arts  had  fully  developed,  the 
edifices  constructed  partook  as  much  of  the  nature  of  palaces 
as  of  temples,  and  faced  in  all  directions,  in  striking  contrast 
with  the  pyramids  of  the  early  dynasties,  which  are  built  with 
the  most  careful  precision,  in  such  a  manner  that  their  sides 
face  the  cardinal  points  of  the  compass,  entrance  being  to 
north. 

The  Hebrews  would  therefore  have  no  knowledge  of  temple 
construction,  as  we  understand  the  term,  derived  from  the 
Egyptians  at  the  time  of  their  leaving  that  people.  The 
writer  of  the  article  "  Temple,"  Smith's  "  Biblical  Dictionary," 
fully  recognises  this,  and  suggests  that  the  style  was  obtained 
from  the  people  of  Assyria,  who  were  of  kindred  language  and 
race  to  the  Hebrews.  As  unfortunately  no  ancient  Assyrian 
temples  have  yet  been  uncovered,  he  is,  in  this  line  of  argu- 
ment, obliged  to  accept  the  later  buildings  of  Persepolis  and 
Nineveh  as  illustrations  of  what  the  ancient  temples  of  Assyria 
might  have  been,  and  to  suppose  that  the  Hebrews  followed  a 
style  the  existence  of  which  previous  to  the  erection  of  the 
tabernacle  there  is  no  evidence. 

If  there  is  any  reason  for  conjecturing  an  affinity  between 


ORIENTATION  OF  ANCIENT  TEMPLES,  ETC.  201 

the  Hebrew  temple  and  the  Assyrian  buildings,  surely  we 
should  not  be  wrong  in  conjecturing  that  the  former  may 
have  in  some  measure  influenced  the  style  of  the  latter,  which 
were  built  so  many  years  after  Solomon  had  reigned  supreme. 

One  temple,  however,  may  have  existed  in  Syria  at  the  time 
of  the  exodus,  namely,  that  dedicated  to  Melkarth,  where 
the  sacred  luminous  stone  was  enshrined  ;  there  is  not,  how- 
ever, any  direct  evidence  as  to  whether  this  temple  was  in  any 
way  similar  to  those  built  in  after-years.  Herodotus,  when  he 
visited  it,  certainly  found  a  temple  there,  and  was  told  that  it 
had  been  built  when  the  city  was  founded,  2300  years  previous 
to  his  visit.  This  statement,  however,  appears  to  be  some- 
what in  error,  for  although  we  know  that  Tyre  existed  at  the 
time  of  the  exodus,  yet  it  did  not  become  a  great  city  and  rule 
the  sea  until  the  fall  of  Sidon,  in  the  thirteenth  century  B.C. 
Josephus,  who  writes  at  some  length  on  the  subject,  states  that 
Tyre  was  built  352  years  after  the  exodus,  and  240  years 
before  the  building  of  the  temple  of  Solomon.  He  evidently 
in  this  passage  refers  to  the  time  when  the  Sidonians  gathered 
at  Tyre,  enlarged  the  city,  and  probably  built  the  temple  whose 
stone  became  the  kibleh  of  the  Phoenician  nation.  It  is  pro- 
bable that  at  the  time  of  the  exodus  the  sacred  stone  at  Tyre 
was  worshipped  in  an  open  temenos. 

Thus,  at  a  time  when  the  old  Egyptian  temples  had  dis- 
appeared, and  when  those  of  the  Mediterranean,  including 
Italy,  Greece,  Asia  Minor,  etc.,  whose  ruins  are  now  visible  on 
the  earth,  had  not  begun  their  existence,  we  find  the  Hebrew 
people  massed  together  below  cloud-compelling,  loud-thunder- 
ing Sinai,  anxiously  awaiting  the  result  of  their  lawgiver's  visit 
to  the  sacred  mount. 

What  necessity  is  there  for  assuming  that  the  tabernacle 
must  be  after  the  mode  of  some  Assyrian  or  Egyptian  build- 
ing ?  Can  we  not  frankly  accept  the  plan  and  details  as  those 
of  an  original  building  conceived  by  Moses  under  Divine  in- 
spiration, in  order  to  supply  not  only  the  wants  of  this  wander- 
ing race  of  Hebrews,  but  of  the  whole  world,  although  of  this 
latter  application  he  may  have  been  profoundly  ignorant  ? 


202      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

There  was,  probably,  one  very  disturbing  influence  on  the 
Hebrew  mind  at  this  time;  this  people  had  been  living  among 
a  nation  whose  apparent  basis  of  religion  was  the  worship  of 
the  sun,  and  who  had  recently  been  engaged  in  a  religious 
revolt  in  favour  of  the  worship  of  the  "glory  of  the  solar 
disc,"  a  record  of  which  is  still  existing  on  the  bas-reliefs  of 
Tell  Amarna. 

The  Hebrews  would  thus,  by  their  sojourn  among  the 
Egyptians,  have  been  actuated  by  a  double  sentiment  with 
regard  to  the  east,  viz.,  an  inclination  towards  it  as  the  point 
from  whence  God's  glory  should  come,  and  a  repulsion  from 
it  as  the  kibleh  to  which  the  sun-worshippers  turned. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  wanderers  under  Mount  Sinai,  the  plan 
of  the  temple  and  its  furniture  all  passed  before  the  eyes  of 
Moses  divinely  inspired,  not  only  its  proportions,  but  also  its 
position.  It  was  to  lie  east  and  west,  the  entrance  towards 
the  east. 

The  reason  for  this  orientation  is  not  given,  neither  is  any 
reason  given  for  the  particular  rites  and  ceremonies  to  be  per- 
formed, but  as  this  new  revelation  was  given  for  the  purpose 
of  supplying  a  craving  and  keeping  the  Hebrews  apart  from 
the  heathen,  reason  there  must  have  been  for  each  minute 
detail. 

Josephus  tells  us  :  "  As  to  the  tabernacle  .  .  .  with  its 
front  to  the  east,  that  when  the  sun  arose,  it  might  send  its 
first  rays  upon  it."  This  he  qualifies  by  saying,  "  The  sky  was 
clear,  but  there  was  a  mist  over  the  tabernacle  only,  encom- 
passing it,  but  not  with  such  a  very  deep  and  thick  cloud  as 
is  seen  in  the  winter  season,  nor  yet  in  so  thin  a  one  as  men 
might  be  able  to  discern  anything  through  it." 

In  the  sacred  narrative  we  read,  "  Then  a  cloud  covered  the 
tent  of  the  congregation,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  filled  the 
tabernacle.  .  .  .  For  the  cloud  of  the  Lord  was  upon  the 
tabernacle  by  day,  and  fire  was  on  it  by  night."  This  would 
appear  sufficient  to  prove  that  the  tabernacle  had  its  entrance 
to  the  east,  with  no  reference  to  the  rising  sun,  for  it  seems 
probable  that  the  sun's  rays  would  only  have  played  upon  the 


ORIENTATION  OF  ANCIENT  TEMPLES,  ETC.  203 

exterior  of  the  cloud,  and  never  have  shone  on  the  tabernacle 
itself.  Nor,  when  we  consider  the  matter,  does  it  seem  reason- 
able to  suppose  that  the  suggestion  of  Josephus  could  have 
been  thought  of  among  the  Hebrews  at  the  time  of  the  first 
erection  of  the  tabernacle ;  for  the  sun  would  have  been  of 
quite  secondary  consideration,  even  to  sun-worshippers,  when 
such  extraordinary  manifestations  were  proceeding  on  Sinai — 
the  mountains  melted  like  wax  at  the  presence  of  the  Lord — 
when  they  saw  that  the  face  of  Moses  shone  with  the  reflec- 
tion of  the  "glory  of  the  Lord,"  that  a  miraculous  cloud 
descended  on  the  tent,  and  that  "  fire  came  out  from  before 
the  Lord  and  consumed  upon  the  altar  the  burnt-offerings." 

Far  more  reasonable  is  the  idea  of  some  of  the  Jews  of  the 
present  day,  who  say  that  the  entrance  was  towards  the  east, 
in  order  that  the  priest  might  watch  for  the  first  dawn  of  day 
in  offering  up  the  morning  sacrifice.  This,  however,  is  not 
a  sufficient  reason,  and  would  not  have  held  good  if  the  taber- 
nacle had  been  placed  on  the  west  side  of  Mount  Sinai,  as 
then  the  first  dawn  would  not  have  been  visible  from  the  taber- 
nacle on  account  of  the  mountain  being  in  the  way. 

On  the  whole,  it  appears  that  the  sun  could  not  have  had 
anything  to  do  with  the  position  of  the  tabernacle,  so  far  as 
its  rays  are  concerned,  though,  being  a  prime  object  of  idolatry 
among  surrounding  nations,  no  doubt  it  was  so  arranged 
that  the  Jewish  worship  could  in  no  wise  degenerate  into 
sun  worship. 

Mention  has  previously  been  made  of  the  passages:  "And, 
behold,  the  glory  of  the  God  of  Israel  came  from  the  way  of 
the  east ; "  and,  again,  "  For,  as  the  lightning  cometh  out  of 
the  east,  and  shineth  even  to  the  west,  so  shall  also  the  coming 
of  the  Son  of  Man  be." 

Here  we  have  the  key  to  the  whole  subject  of  orientation. 
The  ancients  turned  towards  the  east  to  worship  the  "  glory  of 
the  Lord,"  and  gradually  learned  to  look  upon  the  sun  as  a 
symbol  of  that  glory.  On  the'  erection  of  the  tabernacle  the 
pure  worship  of  God  was  restored  to  the  general  community ; 
but  as  the  old  kibleh,  the  east,  had  become  mixed  up  with  the 


204      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

worship  of  idolaters,  the  rising  sun,  it  could  not  be  used  as 
heretofore.  So  the  tabernacle  was  built  to  contain  the 
Shekinah,  its  entrance  facing  towards  the  east,  from  whence 
the  glory  had  come,  the  worshippers  having  their  backs 
towards  the  east.  Thus  the  Hebrews  were  brought  to  face  in 
a  contrary  direction  to  the  sun-worshippers,  while,  at  the 
same  time,  they  continued  to  face  towards  that  same  glory 
now  in  the  tabernacle,  to  which  they  had  previously  turned 
previous  to  the  setting  up  of  the  tabernacle.  It  must  not, 
however,  be  supposed  that  facing  west  became  the  custom 
among  the  Hebrews.  It  will  be  shown  that  this  took  place 
only  within  the  sacred  enclosure,  elsewhere  the  people  faced 
north,  south,  east,  or  west,  according  to  the  direction  of  the 
tabernacle,  containing  the  Shekinah,  their  kibleh. 

Now,  although  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  the  Shekinah,  filled 
the  tabernacle,  and  after  it  the  house  of  the  Lord  (in  the  first 
temple) ;  and,  though  the  Lord  dwelt  there,  yet  it  does  not 
appear  that  the  Hebrews  prayed  to  the  Lord  in  the  house, 
but  rather  they  turned  towards  the  house  and  prayed  to  Him 
in  heaven.  We  see  this  in  the  exhortation  of  Moses  to  the 
people  to  pray  to  Him,  "  Look  down  from  Thy  holy  habitation, 
from  heaven,  and  bless  Thy  people,  Israel." 

Again,  the  prayer  of  Solomon  at  the  dedication  of  the 
temple,  immediately  after  the  Shekinah  had  filled  the  house  : 

"Then  spake  Solomon,  The  Lord  said  that  He  would  dwell 
in  the  thick  darkness.  I  have  surely  built  Thee  an  house  to 
dwell  in,  a  settled  place  for  Thee  to  abide  in  for  ever.  .  .  . 
And  Solomon  stood  before  the  altar  of  the  Lord  in  the  pre- 
sence of  all  the  congregation  of  Israel,  and  spread  forth  his 
hands  toward  heaven  :  and  he  said,  .  .  .  But  will  God  indeed 
dwell  on  the  earth  ?  Behold,  the  heaven,  and  heaven  of  hea- 
vens, cannot  contain  Thee;  how  much  less  this  house  that  I 
have  builded  ?  .  .  .  And  hearken  Thou  to  the  supplication 
of  Thy  servant,  and  of  Thy  people  Israel,  when  they  shall  pray 
toward  this  place :  and  hear  Thou  in  heaven  Thy  dwelling- 
place  ;  and  when  Thou  hearest,  forgive." 

Here  we  have  direct  proof  that  the  Hebrews  at  this  remote 


ORIENTATION  OF  ANCIENT  TEMPLES,  ETC.  205 

period  had  knowledge  of  the  omnipresence  of  God  :  that  while, 
to  gratify  their  natural  cravings,  and  to  keep  them  in  check 
during  their  life  among  the  heathen,  He  dwelt  among  them, 
yet  they  still,  while  turning  towards  His  visible  manifestations 
on  earth,  worshipped  Him  in  heaven. 

The  echo  of  this  sentiment,  attenuated  and  feeble,  is  to  be 
found  among  the  heathen.  The  author  of  the  Homeric  Iliad, 
in  particular,  appears  now  and  then  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  this 
omnipresence,  although  his  words  would  sometimes  belie  him. 

Dr  Potter,  in  his  "  Greek  Antiquities,"  shows  us  that  a  pre- 
cisely similar  method  of  praying  obtained  among  the  heathen 
long  after  the  statues  of  the  gods  had  ceased  to  be  regarded  as 
mere  symbols  of  the  deities  above  and  below.  "  We  do  lift  up 
our  hands  to  heaven  when  we  pray,"  saith  Aristotle,  and 
again,  in  Horace : 

c '  Coelo  supinas  si  tuleris  manus. " 

Pliny  tells  us  that,  "  In  worshipping  ...  we  turn 
about  the  whole  body  ; "  and  that  in  Gaul  it  was  proper  to 
turn  to  the  left  about.  Plautus,  on  the  other  hand,  states  that 
the  Romans  turned  round  by  the  right. 

In  earlier  days,  Pindar  mentions,  "  And  forthwith  he  bade 
golden-tired  Lachesis  uprear  her  hands  to  heaven,  and  not  to 
utter  insincerely  the  mighty  oaths  of  the  gods  ; "  and,  in  the 
Iliad,  wefindChryses  uplifting  his  hands,and  prayingto  Phcebus 
Apollo,  like,  as  we  read,  that  when  Solomon  had  made  an  end 
of  praying  all  his  prayers  and  supplications  unto  the  Lord,  he 
arose  from  before  the  altar  of  the  Lord,  from  kneeling  on  his 
knees  with  his  hands  spread  up  to  heaven.  And  ALneas  tells 
Pandarus,  on  the  battle-field,  to  raise  his  hands  to  Jove,  just  as 
in  earlier  times  Solomon  prays,  "  If  Thy  people  go  out  to 
battle  against  their  enemy,  whithersoever  Thou  shalt  send 
them,  and  shall  pray  unto  the  Lord  toward  the  city  which 
Thou  hast  chosen,  and  toward  the  house  that  I  have  built  for 
Thy  name :  then  hear  Thou  in  heaven  their  prayer  and  their 
supplication,  and  maintain  their  cause." 

Again  we  find  the  mother  of  Hector  asking  him  if  he  in- 


206      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

tends  to  lift  his  hands  to  Jove  in  the  lofty  citadel,  and  again 
the  people  praying  to  Jove,  and  looking  toward  the  wide 
heaven,  or  to  Ida :  for  they  frequently  address  the  Olympian 
Jove  as  ruling  from  Ida.  These  also  accord  with  the  Hebrew 
passages  :  "  The  Lord  is  in  His  holy  temple  ;  the  Lord's  seat 
is  in  heaven."  "  Unto  Thee  will  I  lift  up  mine  eyes,  for  Thou 
dwellest  in  the  heavens."  "  For  I  lift  up  my  hand  to  heaven, 
and  say,  I  live  for  ever." 

We  have  thus  apparently  a  similar  custom  among  the  Greeks 
to  that  of  the  Hebrews,  of  looking  up  to  and  worshipping 
Jove  in  the  heavens,  while  addressing  him  as  ruling  from 
Olympus  or  Ida,  his  dwelling-place  ;  and  there  is  considerable 
indication  of  a  feeling  as  to  his  partial  omnipresence,  although 
there  are  also  instances  of  his  sleeping  and  being  on  a  journey. 

In  these  passages,  and  throughout  the  works  of  the  early 
writers,  when  not  grossly  perverted  or  degraded,  we  obtain 
glimpses  of  the  views  which  obtained,  and  often  of  the  events 
which  took  place,  ages  before  in  Palestine  ;  even  down  to  that 
time  when  heroes  were  given  the  positions  of  gods,  and  true 
religion  was  almost  lost,  we  have  yet  constantly  the  indication 
of  a  purer  sentiment,  as  when  we  find  the  statues  (represent- 
ing the  gods)  still  addressed  as  residing  above  or  below. 

Many  of  the  customs  attendant  on  these  rites  have  still  sur- 
vived their  origin  ;  as,  for  example,  in  the  ceremony  which 
takes  place  at  the  hill  Szafa,  when  the  pilgrim  with  his  face 
turned  towards  the  north  (the  direction  of  the  Kaaba),  which 
is  hidden  from  his  view  by  intervening  houses,  raises  his  hands 
toward  heaven,  addressing  a  short  prayer  to  the  Deity.  The 
hill  Szafa  is  said,  prior  to  the  Mohammedan  period,  to  have 
been  esteemed  by  the  old  Arabians  as  a  holy  place,  containing 
the  god  Motam  (Buckhardt). 

Such  were  some  of  the  customs  of  the  ancients  during  their 
prayers,  presenting  a  strange  similarity  to  the  earlier  worship 
of  the  Hebrews  in  temple  and  tabernacle ;  nor  was  it  only 
in  these  matters  that  the  likeness  existed :  the  whole  attitude 
of  the  early  Greeks  towards  their  gods  reminds  us  most 
strongly  of  a  religion  perverted  from  that  of  the  Hebrews. 


ORIENTATION  OF  ANCIENT  TEMPLES,  ETC.  207 

The  perception  of  the  attributes  of  the  Deity  among  the 
Greeks,  as  compared  with  that  of  the  Hebrews,  was  dim  and 
indistinct,  but,  though  of  a  much  grosser  nature,  it  is  yet  to  be 
found. 

The  God  of  the  Hebrews  did  not  sleep.  "  Behold,  He  that 
keepeth  Israel  shall  neither  slumber  nor  sleep."  Yet  even  the 
psalmist,  in  his  emotion,  is  betrayed  into  exclaiming,  "  Awake, 
Lord,  why  sleepest  Thou  ?"  as  though  in  poesy  urging  Him 
to  show  His  superiority  to  Baal,  who  was  evidently  supposed 
to  indulge  in  sleep,  as  we  learn  from  the  mocking  of  the 
prophet  Elijah  :  "  Cry  aloud  ;  for  he  is  a  god  :  either  he  is  talk- 
ing, or  he  is  pursuing,  or  he  is  in  a  journey,  or  peradventure  he 
sleepeth,  and  must  be  awaked." 

So  also  we  learn  that  the  Olympian  Jove  was  subject  to 
somniferous  influences,  especially  at  night,  although,  like 
mortals,  he  could  lie  awake  and  revolve  schemes  in  his  mind, 
or  even,  I  presume,  exercise  himself  actively  during  the  night, 
as  did  Minerva  in  helping  Diomede  against  the  Trojans.  The 
subjugation  of  the  immortal  gods  to  the  dominion  of  Sleep 
appears  to  be  similar  to  the  twilight  or  death  of  the  northern 
gods;  and  at  first  sight  it  would  almost  appear  as  though 
the  all-powerful  Jove -were,  in  this  instance,  but  a  servant  of 
another.  We  shall  see,  however,  that  it  is  otherwise. 

We  find  Juno  addressing  Sleep  as  "  king  of  all  gods  and 
all  men."  This  shows  how  much  power  he  was  supposed  to 
possess,  although,  no  doubt,  Juno  rather  exaggerated  his 
power  in  order  to  please  him,  and  put  him  in  a  good  humour. 
Sleep,  however,  knows  better  his  limits  of  power;  and  in  his 
reply  he  gives  us  a  clearer  insight  into  the  subject;  for  he  says, 
"  I  could  not  approach  Saturnian  Jove,  nor  lull  him  to  sleep, 
unless,  at  least,  he  commanded  me ;"  and  proceeds  to  show 
that  though  he  might  once  lull  him,  yet  it  would  be  only  a 
temporary  measure,  the  effect  of  which  would  quickly  work 
off,  and  that  then  he  would  be  liable  to  be  hurled  for  ever  out 
of  heaven  by  Jove.  Thus  it  is  apparent  that  the  Greeks 
Supposed  that  Jove  had  power  even  over  sleep. 

They  also  looked  upon  Jove  as  king  of  kings  and  lord  of 


208      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

lords ;  for,  although  we  find  Neptune  stating,  on  his  own 
behalf,  that  the  world  was  divided  among  the  three  sons  of 
Cronos,  and  that  Jove  had  only  his  third  share — the  heavens, 
the  earth,  and  Olympus,  being  common  to  all — we  must  only 
take  this  as  Neptune's  own  selfish  view  of  the  matter,  not 
borne  out  by  other  circumstances.  This  is  evident  when  he 
orders  Neptune  from  the  battle-field  before  Troy  to  retire  to 
the  sea  or  Olympus.  The  earth-shaker,  though  expostulating 
somewhat  freely,  quickly  obeys  the  order. 

He  is  also  styled  as  commanding  Pluto's  division  : 

"Jove  subterranean,  and  of  high  renown 
Proserpine." 

Again,  Jupiter  Larissaeus  is  shown  with  three  eyes,  and 
^Eschylus,  the  son  of  Euphorion,  calls  Jupiter  the  ruler  of  the 
sea.  ! 

The  omniscience  of  Jove  is  less  apparent;  for,  though  so 
keen  sighted  that  he  could  observe  from  Olympus  to  Ida  and 
to  Troy,  as  could  also  the  other  gods,  yet  he  appears  less  quick 
at  hearing. 

There  are,  however,  indications  of  his  being  able  at  times 
to  divine  what  has  occurred  without  having  either  heard  or 
seen  the  act;  and  in  spite  of  his  many  imperfections,  there  is 
a  ring  of  the  true  knowledge  of  God  in  the  account  of  Jove's 
appearance  on  Ida,  watching  over  Troy,  controlling  and 
putting  in  action  the  elements.  Indeed,  there  is  almost  in  the 
history  a  resemblance  to  the  manifestation  which  took  place 
on  Mount  Sinai. 

The  dwelling  of  the  gods  at  Olympus,  and  the  possession 
by  one  or  other  of  them  of  the  many  mountains  of  Olympus, 
Ida,  and  other  high  places,  strikingly  bring  to  our  mind  the 
possession  of  Sinai  by  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  circumstances 
which  took  place  there. 

It  is  most  unfortunate  for  our  present  knowledge  that 
Pausanias,  who  wrote  so  fully  and  carefully  about  ancient 
temples,  should  have  avoided  all  mention  of  anything  relating 
to  the  mysteries  concerning  them.  The  reason  he  gives  is  as 


ORIENTATION  OF  ANCIENT  TEMPLES,  ETC.  209 

follows  :  "  It  was  my  intention,  indeed,  to  have  related  every 
particular  about  the  temple  at  Athens,  which  is  called 
Eleusinian,  but  I  was  restrained  from  the  execution  of  this 
design  by  a  vision  in  a  dream."  This  ill-fated  dream  he 
bears  in  mind  throughout  his  descriptions,  and  often  draws 
up  suddenly,  and  is  silent  just  when  he  is  about  to  treat  upon 
these  subjects. 

Notwithstanding,  however,  the  reticence  of  so  many  of  the 
ancient  writers,  we  are  yet  able  to  gather  moderately  correct 
impressions  as  to  the  views  entertained  as  well  by  the 
heathen  as  by  the  Hebrews  as  to  the  world  in  general,  and 
of  the  Deity  who  governed  it.  All  alike  appear  to  have  had 
the  same  notion  as  to  the  hollow  round  world,  with  its  flat 
disc  the  earth  fixed  in  the  centre;  and  the  poets,  generally, 
made  use  of  the  term  brazen,  or  iron,  as  applied  to  the 
firmament  or  heaven.  The  earth  was  the  grand  centre  of 
the  universe,  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  were  only  accessories. 
Both  Jews  and  Gentiles  believed  the  heaven  to  be  supported 
on  pillars  or  foundations — the  mountains. 

The  Deity  abode  in  heaven  at  first;  but  as  heathen  wor- 
ship gradually  degenerated,  the  people,  after  being  accus- 
tomed to  sacrifice  on  the  mountain  tops,  by  degrees  began 
to  look  upon  these  mountain  tops  and  high  places  of  original 
scenes  of  worship  as  the  occasional  haunts  of  the  gods  ;  and 
eventually  (and,  so  far  as  we  know,  after  the  manifestations  on 
Mount  Sinai)  these  mountain  tops  became  the  recognised 
abodes  of  the  gods,  though,  at  the  same  time,  the  higher  order 
lived  also  in  heaven.  Thus  the  exact  position  of  Olympus  is 
most  deluding.  From  the  Iliad  at  one  moment  it  appears 
clearly  to  have  been  situated  in  heaven,  far  above  the  earth; 
at  another  time  to  be  near  the  earth,  near  the  summit  of 
Mount  Olympus,  though  not  identical  with  it.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  at  the  time  the  Iliad  was  originally  composed 
the  gods  were  just  obtaining  a  local  habitation,  and  thus  the 
difference  of  language  in  the  several  parts. 

The  fact  that  each  national  centre  had  a  Mount  Olympus, 

an  Ida,  or  a  Zion,  is  sufficient  proof  that  the  account  of  the 

o 


210      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Thessalian  home  of  the  gods  was  no  local  tradition  belonging 
to  that  place,  and  to  the  Achseans  in  particular,  but  was  either 
a  tradition  travelling  with  the  several  human  races  in  their  on- 
ward progress  from  the  east,  and  referable  back  to  the  most 
ancient  times,  or  else  it  was  the  circling  echo  of  some  extra- 
ordinary manifestation  of  the  Deity  upon  a  mountain  top,  as 
took  place  upon  Mount  Sinai.  Such  wonders  as  were  seen  on 
the  giving  of  the  law  cannot  have  failed  to  have  become  known, 
even  if  not  heard  and  seen,  by  the  wild  children  of  the  desert, 
the  rightful  owners  of  these  parts  ;  from  these  the  rumour 
would  quickly  have  extended  throughout  the  people  speak- 
ing languages  somewhat  akin.  When  we  consider  that  all 
the  present  civilised  world  has  now  accepted  the  fulfilled 
religion  of  the  Hebrews,  it  can  scarcely  be  urged  that  nations 
may  not  have  done  so  in  a  modified  form  in  earlier  times, 
when  there  certainly  was  not  nearly  so  great  a  divergence 
between  the  heathen  and  the  Hebrews,  as  during  the  last 
two  thousand  years.  Such  being  the  origin,  as  surmised,  with 
regard  to  mountain  worship,  it  is  natural  to  conclude  that, 
after  the  abode  of  the  gods  was  transferred  from  the  heavens 
in  the  east  to  the  mountain  tops,  these  tops  would  become  the 
kibleh ;  that  such  was  the  case  I  have  as  yet  seen  no  proof, 
and  there  are  no  existing  remains  of  temples  in  the  Medi- 
terranean (except  Egypt)  of  so  early  a  date  ;  but  possibly  the 
change  of  position  to  the  west  from  the  east  may  have  taken 
place  at  once  without  the  period  of  mountain  kiblehs  inter- 
vening, in  imitation  of  the  tabernacle  worship,  which  I  will 
now  allude  to. 

In  modern  atlases  and  school-books  we  are  accustomed  to 
find  the  tabernacle  represented  as  a  modern  European  tent, 
of  the  description  called  Marquee,  such  as  is  seen  at  a  flower- 
show  in  this  country. 

This  idea  was  first  brought  forward  and  developed  about 
twenty  years  ago  by  Mr  Fergusson,  and  it  has  rapidly  been 
taken  up  by  the  public,  though  I  do  not  think  that  this 
representation  to  the  eye  of  an  Arab  or  Jew  brought  up 
in  the  East  would  call  up  any  idea  but  that  of  the  travelling 


ORIENTATION  OF  ANCIENT  TEMPLES,  ETC.  211 

tent  of  a  rich  Frank  tourist.  The  oblong  box-like  structure 
shown  in  the  works  of  Calmet,  Bahr,  and  Newman  is  in  all  pro- 
bability the  real  representation  of  the  tabernacle,  for  it  ex- 
actly corresponds  to  the  description  given  in  the  Bible ;  Mr 
Fergusson,  however,  ridicules  this  shape,  appealing  to  our 
English  prejudices,  by  suggesting  its  likeness  to  a  coffin  with 
a  pall  thrown  over  it ;  but  he  does  not  explain  how  the  like- 
ness to  the  modern  coffin  should  be  any  objection  to  its  use 
among  a  people  living  three  thousand  years  ago,  who  used 
neither  coffin  or  pall,  and  whose  eyes  were  entirely  accustomed 
to  building  of  the  general  shape  of  our  modern  coffins. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  oblong  box  (call  it  coffin-shape  if 
it  is  preferred)  was  and  is  the  shape  of  all  the  buildings  in 
Egypt  and  the  East  generally,  as  far  as  India,  of  which 
proof  can  be  found  in  the  Biblical  accounts,  in  Fergusson's 
"  Principles  of  Architecture,"  and  in  modern  photographs  : 
and  I  ask  Mr  Fergusson  to  produce  a  specimen  of  any  early 
building  from  those  countries,  dating  before  our  era,  with  a 
high-pitched  roof,  similar  to  that  which  he  ascribes  to  the 
tabernacle — even  the  Pyramids  were  built  in  a  series  of  steps. 

The  tabernacle  was  reproduced  in  stone  in  the  construction 
of  the  temple  ;  but  Mr  Fergusson  does  not  attribute  a  high- 
pitched  roof  to  that  edifice.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  if 
there  had  been  such  a  roof  to  the  tabernacle  we  should  have 
some  trace  of  it  in  the  form  of  the  temple  or  in  the  architec- 
ture of  the  country.  Instead  of  this  there  is  only  reference  to 
flat  roofs. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  tabernacle  was  only  a  tent,  but  I 
contend  that  it  was  not  a  tent  in  our  sense  of  the  word.  It 
was  a  wooden  box-like  building,  with  a  leathern  roof — a 
wooden  portable  temple. 

Admitting  for  one  instant  that  it  was  a  tent,  I  ask  why  it 
is  necessary  to  give  it  a  high-pitched  roof,  when  Arab  tents  of 
the  same  size  at  the  present  day  are  nothing  like  a  marquee. 
I  have  passed  the  night  in  Bedouin  tents  during  heavy  rains, 
whose  roofs  of  one  thickness  of  camel  hair,  had  a  slope  of  not 
more  than  one  in  six,  and  they  were  comparatively  dry  inside  ; 


212      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

and  I  do  not  see  any  reason  for  supposing  that  the  roof  of  the 
tabernacle  was  more  than  a  foot  higher  at  the  centre  than  at 
the  sides. 

Mr  Fergusson  suggests  that,  with  the  box-like  structure,  the 
roof  would  sag  in  ;  but,  in  his  construction,  he  is  obliged  to 
introduce  a  great  many  ridge-poles  and  uprights  not  men- 
tioned in  the  Bible,  with  the  use  of  half  of  which  the  box 
tabernacle  would  have  its  roof  so  held  up  as  not  to  sag. 

The  high-pitched  roof  introduces  a  grave  difficulty ;  the 
upper  part  is  open  from  east  to  west,  and  the  wind  would  have 
raised  the  roof  and  blown  the  tent  down  with  facility.  Again, 
the  Holy  of  Holies  is  left  without  any  roof  except  the  angular 
one  of  the  tent ;  it  thus  ceases  to  be  a  cube,  and  it  is  open  to 
the  light  and  air  to  the  west,  so  that  any  person  on  an  eleva- 
tion to  west  could  see  into  it.  Such  a  construction  is  entirely 
contrary  to  the  Biblical  account,  where  the  entire  seclusion  of 
the  sanctum  is  enlarged  upon,  and  the  interior  spoken  of  as 
"  thick  darkness." 

Mr  Fergusson  also  makes  a  point  as  to  the  ornamental 
curtain  being  only  seen  in  part  of  the  box  tabernacle;  but  there 
was  no  occasion  for  it  to  have  been  seen  by  mortal  eye.  If  the 
choice  work  of  the  tabernacle  had  been  intended  for  view,  the 
embroidered  curtain  might  have  been  used  as  a  covering  out- 
side instead  of  the  rough  badger  skins.  The  whole  account 
goes  to  show  that  the  box  was  for  the  enshrinement  of  the  most 
precious  jewel  any  nation  could  possess  ;  and,  therefore,  with 
a  rough  covering  on  the  outside,  the  hangings  and  furniture 
of  the  structure  were  made  more  and  more  costly  the  closer 
they  were  to  the  jewel  they  were  intended  to  enshroud.  There 
is  nothing  inconsistent  in  the  covering  of  the  golden-laden 
boards  with  an  embroidered  cloth,  and  that  again  with 
goats'  hair.  The  precious  Shekinah  might  well  be  carefully 
housed. 

I  have  not  space  here  to  show  how  closely  Calmet's  box 
tabernacle  corresponds  in  its  dimensions  with  those  given  in 
the  Bible  ;  but  I  have  worked  the  question  out  many  times 
and  cannot  find  out  the  difficulties  alluded  to  by  Mr  Fergusson, 


ORIENTATION  OF  ANCIENT  TEMPLES,  ETC.  213 

neither  can  I  see  any  merit  in  the  high-pitched  roof  which  he 
has  given  in  lieu  of  that  with  a  very  gentle  slope. 

I  have  one  more  point  to  allude  to  on  this  subject,  and  that 
is  the  shape  of  the  other  tabernacle,  the  Kaaba  at  Mecca.  It 
is  described  as  an  oblong  box-like  structure,  and,  if  less 
ancient  than  the  tabernacle,  was  possibly  copied  from  it.  The 
Arabs  suppose  that  the  Kaaba  was  built  by  Abraham  in  imi- 
tation of  the  heaven-descended  tabernacle  of  clouds,  which 
appeared  on  some  spot  at  Mecca  to  Adam  after  his  exit  from 
Paradise.  There  is  thus  a  curious  connection  between  the 
ancient  worship  of  the  descendants  of  the  two  sons  of  Abra- 
ham— of  the  bond-woman  and  of  the  free — which  is  very  in- 
teresting to  those  who  study  the  subject,  and  which  probably 
led  that  distinguished  scholar,  the  late  Emanuel  Deutsch,  to 
describe  the  Mohammedanism  of  Arabia  as  the  Christianity  of 
the  East 

It  will  not  be  to  our  purpose  to  follow  the  tabernacle  through 
its  wanderings  ;  it  served  its  purpose  well  until  the  arrival  of 
the  Hebrews  in  the  Promised  Land ;  then  there  was  a  startling 
change:  the  ark  and  the  tabernacle  became  wrenched  asunder; 
the  former  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Philistines ;  the  Hebrews, 
in  despair,  took  to  sacrificing  and  seeking  the  Lord  again  on 
high  places  on  their  own  account,  in  spite  of  the  Mosaic  law 
on  the  subject,  and  the  strict  forms  and  ceremonies  fell  into 
disuse  until  the  tabernacle  became  fixed  in  stone  during  the 
reign  of  King  Solomon. 

In  Jerusalem  it  was  reared  on  the  high  place,  the  threshing- 
floor  of  Araunah  the  Jebusite,  on  Mount  Moriah,  possibly  the 
scene  of  Abraham's  exhibition  of  deep  faith  toward  God,  or 
possibly  outside  the  walls  of  the  Salem  of  King  Melchisedek. 

The  history  of  the  locked-up  stone  of  Jerusalem,  Es  Sakhrah, 
has  already  been  partially  told  in  your  papers,  but  recent 
researches  and  excavations  have  led  to  a  fuller  knowledge  of 
that  sacred  work  than  we  then  possessed.  At  present  it  is 
enshrined  within  the  Dome  of  the  Rock,  the  building  of  Abd  el 
Melek,  and  is  the  source  of  attraction  to  the  Moslems  in  their 
secondary  pilgrimage.  In  some  measure  it  is  of  greater  im- 


214     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

portance  than  even  the  Kaaba  at  Mecca,  and  with  the  black 
stone  of  the  Kaaba  and  the  garden  at  Medina,  enjoys  the 
destinction  of  being  considered  a  portion  of  Paradise  on 
earth. 

The  dust  accumulated  on  this  stone  is  carefully  collected 
once  a  year  and  distributed  among  the  people  as  an  antidote 
to  opthalmia.  The  Mohammedan  traditions  about  this  rock  are 
sufficiently  curious  ;  though  about  forty  feet  square,  it  is  said 
to  be  a  detached  stone,  only  resting  on  the  top  of  a  palm-tree, 
from  the  roots  of  which,  issuing  from  Paradise,  flow  all  the 
rivers  of  the  earth.  It  is  also  the  centre  of  the  world,  and  it  is 
Bethel,  the  gate  of  heaven,  where  Jacob  lay  and  dreamed  :  it 
is  about  twenty  miles  nearer  heaven  than  any  other  spot  on 
earth.  Here  it  was  that  Mahomet  arrived  on  his  visionary 
night  journey  to  heaven  from  Mecca,  having  in  one  of  the 
gateways  of  the  noble  sanctuary  tied  up  Barak,  on  whose 
wings  he  had  come.  He  found  a  ladder  of  light  descending 
to  the  rock  from  heaven,  and  by  the  help  of  Gabriel  he  sped 
up  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning,  followed  close  on  his  heels 
by  the  sacred  stone,  which,  however,  was  captured  and  fastened 
down  again  by  the  angel.  These  legends  are  no  doubt  com- 
pounded of  many  of  the  historical  accounts  related  in  holy 
writ  much  materialised,  and  they  point  to  the  extreme  rever- 
ence the  Moslems  have  for  this  rock.  Whence  then  comes 
this  stone,  and  what  is  it  ? 

While  founding  his  religion,  and  rooting  out  the  idols  from 
the  Kaaba,  Mahomet  conceived  the  idea  of  making  the 
ancient  kibleh  of  the  Jews  at  Jerusalem  the  kibleh  of  his 
followers,  and  announced  his  decision.  Finding,  however, 
that  this  device,  contrary  to  his  expectations,  had  not  the 
desired  effect  of  attracting  the  Christians  and  Jews,  and  that 
the  Arabians  were  angry  at  the  secondary  position  given  to 
their  ancient  temple,  the  Kaaba,  he  was  seized  with  an  in- 
spiration ;  and  when  worshipping  at  Kibleytein  toward 
Jerusalem,  suddenly  faced  round,  and  worshipped  toward 
Mecca.  Thus,  there  was  much  reason  among  the  Moslems 
for  highly  venerating  this  spot  at  Jerusalem. 


ORIENTATION  OF  ANCIENT  TEMPLES,  ETC.  215 

On  the  capture  of  the  Holy  City  by  Omar  in  A.D.  636, 
the  site  of  the  ancient  temple  was  found  covered  with  refuse, 
placed  there  by  the  Christians  as  an  active  token  of  their 
abhorrence  of  the  Jews.  Omar,  on  clearing  this  away,  dis- 
covered the  present  sakhrah,  on  which  the  cubbet  was,  in 
after-years,  built  by  Abd  el  Melek.  It  was  then,  probably,  as 
now,  the  highest  portion  of  the  crest  of  Moriah.  A  question 
arose  whether  the  mosque  (of  Omar)  should  be  so  built  that 
the  kibleh  of  Moses  and  of  Mecca  should  be  in  one  line  for 
those  worshipping  at  Jerusalem,  but  Omar  would  not  admit 
of  such  a  compromise,  and  settled  it  otherwise. 

Abd  el  Melek,  at  one  time  during  his  reign,  fearing  for  his 
supremacy  when  Mecca  fell  into  the  hands  of  Abdallah  ibn 
Zobei,  again  made  the  sakhrah  the  kibleh  for  a  time.  The 
Kaaba,  however,  resumed  its  position  on  peace  being  restored, 
and  has  since  held  the  first  place. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  sakhrah  formed  a 
portion  of  the  mount  on  which  the  temple  and  its  inner 
courts  stood ;  but  I  do  not  think  that  it  represents  either  the 
site  of  the  altar  or  of  the  sanctum  sanctorum. 

I  do  not  assert  that  the  exact  position  of  the  ancient  temple 
has  been  positively  fixed,  but  I  believe  it  has.  No  attempt 
has  yet  been  made  to  assail  the  position  I  have  assigned  to 
it.  The  description  of  the  position  and  arguments  in  favour 
of  it  will  be  found  in  the  Athenaeum  (2469),  and  in  the 
Palestine  Exploration  Fund  periodical,  and  I  will  only  briefly 
say  a  few  words  on  the  subject.  In  Palestine  it  frequently 
happens  that  close  by  threshing-floors  are  caves  in  the  rock 
for  storing  grain.  From  the  remark  that  Oman  and  his  four 
sons  hid  themselves,  Dean  Stanley  has  suggested  that  there 
may  have  been  a  cave,  represented  by  that  which  is  now 
found  under  the  sakhrah,  and  that  it  was  then  the  store  for 
the  grain  they  were  threshing  out.  The  floor  would  then 
have  been  on  one  side  of  the  cave,  probably  to  the  south.  In 
my  plan,  the  altar  stands  on  tank  No.  5,  which  formed  thus 
a  portion  of  the  subterranean  communication  spoken  of  as 
existing  under  the  temple  enclosure,  and  the  sacred  rock 


216      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

forms  the  floor  of  the  room  Pava  (over  the  Magician's  Chamber), 
and  the  Chamber  of  the  Washers.  The  drain  I  discovered  on 
the  top  of  the  rock  was  possibly  that  by  which  the  refuse  from 
the  inwards  was  carried  off.  The  cave  forms  part  of  the 
passage  of  the  Chel  under  the  gate  Nitsots.  The  sakhrah, 
though  not  thus  part  of  the  temple  proper  or  the  altar,  is  part 
of  the  inner  court,  so  sacred  that  within  its  precincts  the  king 
only  could  be  seated.  With  this  disposition  the  temple  lies 
with  its  entrance  to  Arabia,  facing  about  10°  north  of  east. 

It  has  been  suggested  that,  "  according  to  the  Jewish 
calendar,  the  temple  was  built  on  the  7th  of  Zif :  the  ampli- 
tude of  sunrise  on  that  day  at  Jerusalem,  according  to  tables 
which  we  have  always  found  accurately  to  explain  the  Hebrew 
dates,  was  10°  48'  30"  north  of  east."  I  have  had  no  means 
of  checking  this  statement,  but  it  is  very  possible  that  in 
early  times  the  east  may  have  been  obtained  from  the  posi- 
tion of  the  sun  at  sunrise  on  a  particular  day,  without  any 
reference  whatever  to  sun-worship.  It  would  be  most  in- 
teresting if  it  could  be  ascertained  that  the  position  of  other 
temples  to  north  or  south  of  east  is  in  any  way  governed  by 
the  position  of  the  sun  at  sunrise  on  any  particular  day  of 
the  year. 

On  entering  the  Promised  Land,  the  Hebrews  were  enjoined 
in  the  strictest  manner  to  uproot  the  heathen  institutions,  to 
destroy  their  altars  and  break  down  their  images,  and  cut 
down  their  groves  and  burn  the  graven  images  with  fire  ;  but 
there  is  not  a  single  allusion  to  the  existence  of  any  temples 
in  Syria,  nor  does  it  appear  probable  that  any  existed  at  that 
time,  for  we  learn  from  other  sources  that  it  was  only  in  later 
days  the  temples  came  into  use,  and  first,  as  Pausanias  tells 
us,  they  we're  made  of  wood. 

The  Hebrews  were  also  told  to  pluck  down  the  high  places 
of  the  heathen,  but  it  does  not  appear  that  they  carried  out 
this  injunction  in  its  integrity ;  and  it  does  not  seem  quite 
clear  at  the  present  day  as  to  exactly  what  was  intended  by 
the  order — whether  it  was  simply  to  pull  down  the  altars  of 
the  heathen  which  had  been  erected  on  sanctified  places.  At 


ORIENTATION  OF  ANCIENT  TEMPLES,  ETC.  217 

any  rate,  until  the  dedication  of  the  temple,  the  sacrifice  and 
worship  of  the  Hebrews  on  high  places,  though  not  approved, 
was  considered  a  venial  offence  as  compared  with  other  sins  ; 
and  we  even  find  Solomon  going  to  the  high  place  of  Gibeon 
and  sacrificing,  and  then  being  visited  by  the  Lord  in  a  dream, 
and  promised  by  Him  the  gift  of  wisdom.  Gideon  was  told  to 
sacrifice  on  the  top  of  a  rock  at  Ophrah,  and  also  Manoah  in 
like  manner  elsewhere.  High  places  continued  to  be  the  scenes 
of  worship  and  of  sacrifice  among  nations  until  a  late  date,  and 
the  upper  chamber  in  the  house  and  the  house-top  were  also 
considered  fit  places  for  worship.  St  Peter  went  up  to  the 
house-top  to  pray,  and  the  Last  Supper  was  celebrated  in  an 
upper  chamber. 

On  the  heights  of  Nebo  and  Pisgah,  also,  altars  only  were 
used,  and  there  is  no  mention  of  any  temple.  Certainly  the 
remains  of  a  temple  exist  in  the  ruins  of  the  town  of  Niba, 
which  I  found  in  1867;  but  this  appears  to  be  of  quite  a 
late  date,  probably  not  more  ancient  than  the  time  of  the 
Antonines. 

It  seems  doubtful  whether  it  was  a  temple  whose  pillars 
Samson  pulled  down  on  himself  and  his  spectators,  and  it  is 
not  until  the  ark  was  placed  in  the  house  of  Dagon  that  we 
have  any  direct  evidence  on  the  subject. 

Micah  also  made  a  house  for  his  gods. 

It  was  only  after  the  dedication  of  the  temple  of  Solomon 
that  we  have  any  allusion  to  the  temples  of  Baal,  and  the  use 
of  temples  thus  appears  to  have  grown  up  after  the  entry  of 
the  Hebrews  into  the  Promised  Land. 

The  story  of  Bel  and  the  Dragon  contains  the  description  of 
a  pagan  temple  in  Babylon  of  the  time  of  Daniel,  600  B.C.,  in 
the  reign  of  Cyrus,  King  of  Persia.  The  account  of  this 
temple  corresponds,  as  far  as  it  goes,  with  those  of  later  date 
which  I  examined  in  the  Lebanon  and  about  Hermon, 
especially  regarding  the  secret  entrance  for  the  priests.  The 
account  is  the  more  interesting  because  the  earliest  temples, 
whose  ruins  are  now  extant,  are  of  about  this  date,  and  though 
they  are  unfortunately  much  ruined  and  altered,  yet  it  is 


218      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

apparent,  from  what  still  remains,  that  they  had  their  entrances 
to  the  west,  contrariwise  to  all  later  temples. 

Among  the  oldest  of  these  I  may  mention  the  Parthenon 
and  temple  of  Jupiter  Olympius  at  Athens,  which  are  said 
(Stewart's  "Antiquities  of  Athens")  to  have  had  their  principal 
entrances  to  the  west.  It  would  thus  appear  that  we  have  no 
cas£s  of  any  temples  with  their  entrances  to  the  east  earlier  than 
600  B.C.,  that  is,  about  400  years  after  the  construction  of 
Solomon's  temple,  and  800  years  after  the  setting  up  of  the 
tabernacle. 

This  completely  agrees  with  what  Dr  Potter  tells  us  on  the 
subject :  "  It  was  an  ancient  custom  among  the  heathen 
to  worship  with  their  faces  towards  the  east.  This  is  proved 
by  Clemens  of  Alexandria,  and  Hyginus,  the  freedman  of 
Augustus  Caesar,  to  have  been  the  most  ancient  situation  of 
temples,  and  that  the  placing  the  front  of  temples  towards 
the  east  was  only  a  device  of  later  years." 

Vitruvius  (B.C.  25)  also  says  that  the  entrances  of  temples 
should  be  towards  the  west,  although,  in  his  time,  most  temples 
must  have  had  their  entrances  changed  to  the  east. 

We  have  thus  the  testimony  of  ancient  historians  and  their 
commentators  as  to  worship  having  originally  been  toward 
the  east,  and  of  temples  having  been  so  turned,  up  to  the  year 
600  B.C.,  or  thereabouts.  After  this  time  all  temples  were 
either  turned  in  a  manner  similar  to  Solomon's  temple,  or  had 
no  orientation  at  all.  The  inference  I  draw  from  this  is,  that 
the  glory  and  knowledge  of  Solomon's  temple  gradually 
became  infiltrated  among  the  surrounding  nations,  and  that 
the  heathen,  perhaps  quite  unconsciously,  were  influenced 
thereby. 

Let  us  now  make  inquiry  as  to  the  prospect  of  those 
tenJples  which  increased  so  rapidly  under  the  fostering  care  of 
the  Roman  empire,  and  whose  remains  are  now  so  numerous : 
sacred  '5ome  to  the  gods  .and  some  to  men.  The  Greek 
scholiast  upon  Pindar  (B.C.  25)  tells  us  they  were  wont  to  turn 
their  faces  towards  the  east  when  they  prayed  to  the  gods,  and 
to  the  west  when  to  the  heroes  or  demi-gods.  It  is  of  little 


ORIENTATION  OF  ANCIENT  TEMPLES,  ETC.  219 

use  referring  to  the  latter ;  they  had  no  constant  orientation, 
and  were  placed  as  circumstances  required — facing  a  thorough- 
fare or  river.  But  regarding  the  temples  to  the  gods,  in  the 
existing  remains  in  Syria,  Greece,  Italy,  and  Sicily,  we  find 
their  entrances  for  the  most  part  toward  the  east,  and  that 
therefore  the  people  worshipped  toward  the  west,  as  did  the 
Hebrews.  True,  it  had  been  surmised  that  the  temples  about 
Mount  Hermon  had  been  turned  towards  it  as  to  a  kibleh,  so 
that  worshippers  might  look  to  it  and  pray  ;  but  the  plans  and 
positions  of  all  these  temples  have  now  been  obtained,  and, 
without  exception,  they  all  have  their  entrances  to  the  east, 
and  in  no  one  case  does  the  front,  or  any  side  of  the  building, 
face  direct  upon  the  summit  of  Hermon.  They  do  not  all 
face  due  east,  but  some  a  few  degrees  north  or  south  of  east — 
possibly  in  accordance  with  the  direction  of  east  as  obtained 
from  the  sun  at  dawn  on  the  day  of  commencement,  or  of 
dedication. 

There  is,  however,  one  temple  among  these  which  differs 
from  the  rest,  namely,  that  on  the  summit  of  Mount  Hermon 
itself,  possibly  the  remains  of  that  remarkable  temple  to  which 
St  Jerome  refers,  at  which  the  heathen  from  the  region  of 
Panias  and  Lebanon  met  for  worship.  It  does  not  at  all 
follow  that  the  worshippers  at  this  temple  were  the  same 
people  with  those  who  met  together  in  the  temples  surround- 
ing the  mount.  Probably  at  that  time,  as  now,  there  were 
several  religious  sects  in  the  country  ;  some,  perhaps,  following 
the  old  sun-worship,  others  that  of  the  celestial  gods,  others 
that  of  the  heroes,  and  possibly  many  adopting  a  mixture  of 
all.  There  are  now  in  the  country  several  distinct  sects  of 
Christians,  two  distinct  sects  of  Moslems,  and  also  two  sects 
whose  religious  observances  are  quite  unknown  to  us,  though 
much  has  been  surmised  concerning  them.  Of  one  of  those 
latter,  Benjamin  of  Tudila  (A.D.  1 165)  gives  some  account, 
stating  that  they  worshipped  even  then  on  high  places  and 
rocky  ridges  ;  and  it  seems  probable  that  this  sect  may  consist 
of  the  descendants  of  the  ancient  inhabitants,  who  preferred 
the  secret  worship  approved  of  by  the  emissary  of  the  mad 


220      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Khalif  Hakim  (A.D.  1120)  to  the  open  religion  of  their  Moslem 
rulers. 

That  the  older  forms  of  sun-worship  existed  side  by  side 
with  the  not  less  idolatrous  worship  that  sprung  from  it,  there 
can  be  no  doubt.  Even  as  late  as  the  time  of  the  prophet 
Ezekiel  we  have  a  record  of  it :  "  .  .  .  And,  behold,  at 
the  door  of  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  between  the  porch  and 
the  altar,  were  about  five-and-twenty  men,  with  their  backs 
toward  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  and  their  faces  toward  the 
east;  and  they  worshipped  the  sun  toward  the  east."  Hermon 
and  other  peaks  of  the  Lebanons  may  thus  have  continued  to 
be  the  scenes  of  sun-worship  until  a  very  late  date,  so  late 
that  I  doubt  but  that  traces  may  yet  be  found  of  it,  if  not  the 
worship  itself,  among  the  people.  In  this  worship  it  does  not 
seem  that  a  covered  temple  was  necessary,  and  Herodotus 
tells  us  that  the  Persians  had  no  temples,  even  in  ages  when 
temples  were  common  in  all  other  countries,  and  that  they 
worshipped  upon  some  high  place.  The  Egyptian  bas-relief 
at  Tell  Amarna,  however,  picturing  the  sun-worship  during  the 
eighteenth  dynasty,  when  the  Hebrews  were  in  the  country, 
shows  a  temple,  the  people  having  their  backs  towards  it  and 
their  faces  to  the  sun. 

As  has  been  mentioned,  the  temple  of  Hermon  differs  from 
those  located  around  its  base  and  roots  :  it  is  an  open  sacellum 
facing  north-east,  and  situated  south  of  the  southern  peak, 
for  there  are  three  peaks,  about  500  yards  apart,  forming 
almost  an  equilateral  triangle.  The  northern  and  western  do 
not  appear  to  have  been  the  scenes  of  worship,  but  that  to  the 
south,  probably  from  the  earliest  times,  has  been  used  as  such. 
Here,  in  the  caldron  scooped  out  of  the  rock  summit,  is  the 
place  where,  I  presume,  the  children  were  given  over  to 
Moloch  and  devoured  by  the  flames. 

The  place  is  so  little  known,  and  is  of  so  interesting  a 
nature,  that  I  will  give  a  short  account  of  it : 

Around  the  southern  peak  is  an  oval  of  upright  stones  well 
dressed,  in  a  continuous  curved  line,  about  2  feet  in  height, 
each  stone  being  about  8  feet  long.  This  oval  is  elliptical,  its 


ORIENTATION  OF  ANCIENT  TEMPLES,  ETC.  221 

longer  axis  from  north-west  to  south-east  being  1 30  feet,  its 
shorter  axis  being  about  100  feet  in  length.  Within  the  oval 
rises  the  peak  to  a  height  of  about  18  feet,  and  at  the  apex  is 
a  hole  cut  out  like  a  caldron,  9  feet  in  diameter,  and  about 
6  feet  deep ;  at  the  bottom  is  shingle  and  rubbish,  and  the 
true  bottom  is  probably  deeper  ;  to  the  south,  and  just  outside 
the  oval,  is  the  ruin  of  the  sacellum. 

This  peak  cannot  be  seen  from  any  point  below  except 
to  the  east,  and  the  summit  generally  cannot  be  seen  from 
the  villages  at  the  base  of  the  mountain.  From  many  of  the 
villages  a  culminating  point  indeed  is  seen,  but  it  is  merely 
the  swelling  of  the  mountain  side  and  not  the  true  summit 

This  peak,  pre-eminent  among  the  high  places  of  Syria  and 
Palestine,  with  its  stone  oval,  was  apparently  the  scene  of 
that  portion  of  the  ancient  form  of  worship  which  the  Moslems 
still  preserve  around  the  Kaaba  and  the  Sakhrah  :  namely, 
the  towaf  or  walk  round,  generally  repeated  seven  times. 
Prior  to  the  age  of  Mahomet,  the  people,  when  idolatry  pre- 
vailed in  Arabia,  regarded  the  Kaaba  as  sacred  ;  and  having 
worshipped  the  black  stone  and  reverently  kissed  it,  proceeded, 
divested  of  all  garments,  to  execute  the  towaf,  nearly  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  Moslems  execute  the  same  ceremony  at 
the  present  time,  except  that  it  is  now  performed  with  greater 
decency. 

Whilst  on  the  subject  of  high  places,  it  may  not  be  out  of 
place  to  mention  that  the  top  of  Mount  Gerizim  is  also  a  kibleh, 
towards  which  the  Samaritans  turn  during  worship — a  people 
who,  though  now  restricted  to  the  town  of  Nablous  (and  only 
numbering  about  200),  formerly  inhabited  many  of  the  sur- 
rounding towns  and  villages.  They  arethe  only  people  in  Syria 
who  have  openly  carried  on  their  form  of  worship  continu- 
ously since  the  time  of  the  captivity.  Their  customs  and  cere- 
monies on  this  account  are  most  interesting,  especially  as  they 
are  founded  on  the  Hebrew  form  of  worship  ;  and,  having  been 
antagonistic  to  them  since  the  time  of  Cyrus  of  Persia,  we 
have  in  them  a  most  extraordinary  living  corroboration  of  the 
general  truth  of  the  Hebrew  records,  for  the  Samaritans  would 


222      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

glory  in  any  discrepancy  which  would  tend  to  throw  doubt 
upon  the  authenticity  of  the  books  of  their  ancient  enemies. 

It  is  remarkable,  on  the  return  of  the  Hebrews  to  the  Pro- 
mised Land,  that  Ebal  and  Gerizim  should  have  been  selected 
as  the  site  for  the  reading  of  the  law  and  the  utterance  of  the 
blessings  and  curses  by  all  Israel ;  and  one  of  the  chief  dif- 
ferences in  the  Pentateuchs  of  the  two  people  is,  that  the 
Samaritans  read  that  the  great  altar  of  peace-offering,  erected 
to  Jehovah,  was  on  Gerizim,  the  mount  of  blessing,  and  not 
on  Ebal  as  we  read  it. 

The  rock  towards  which  the  Samaritans  now  turn  is  that 
on  which  they  suppose  the  great  altar  to  have  been  erected, 
and  close  to  it  is  a  small  hole  which  they  say  is  the  spot 
where  Abraham  sacrificed  ;  where  Jacob  dreamed  ;  where 
the  ark  rested ;  the  Holy  of  Holies.  Dean  Stanley  suggests 
that  this  hole  was  the  sewer  by  which  the  blood  was  carried 
away  from  the  sacrifices,  just  as  it  was  from  the  altar  at 
Jerusalem.  The  pit  in  which  the  Paschal  lambs  are  now  roasted 
is  to  the  west  of  this  rock,  and  the  Samaritans,  when  going 
through  their  ceremonies  at  Easter,  face  at  the  same  time  east- 
ward, and  toward  their  sacred  rock,  being  thus  the  only 
worshippers  to  the  east  in  latter  days,  with  the  exception  of 
sun-worshippers.  When  away  from  Gerizim  they  face 
towards  the  stone  on  the  summit  in  prayer. 

Of  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Hellenius,  built  on  Gerizim  in  the 
reign  of  Antiochus,  nothing  apparently  now  remains  ;  but  it 
probably  was  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  ruins  of  the 
Church  of  Justinian  to  the  north  of  the  sacred  rock. 

The  heathen  temples  of  the  Roman  empire  continued  in 
existence  until  the  fourth  or  fifth  century;  in  some  cases, 
side  by  side,  Jewish  synagogues  and  Christian  churches,  in 
other  cases,  themselves  turned  into  Christian  churches.  In 
Syria  the  heathen  worship  continued  as  late  as  A.D.  420,  when 
the  inhabitants  summoned  Simeon  Stylite  to  help  them  from 
the  ravages  of  wild  beasts,  and  he  counselled  them  to  give 
up  their  idolatry ;  and  Theodosius  the  younger  made  a  law 
about  the  same  time,  enjoining  the  destruction  of  all  hea- 


ORIENTATION  OF  ANCIENT  TEMPLES,  ETC.  223 

then  temples,  in  default  of  their  being  turned  into  Christian 
churches. 

I  may  mention  that  we  have  direct  evidence  of  this  having 
occurred  in  the  remains  of  the  temple  of  Rukleh,  at  the  foot  of 
Mount  Hermon,  where  the  apsidal  end  is  most  obviously  an 
addition  taking  the  place  of  the  old  eastern  entrance,  the  latter 
entrance  being  from  the  west ;  the  same  is  to  be  found  in  the 
ancient  temple  at  Niba,  west  of  Mount  Nebo.  That  so  few, 
comparatively,  of  these  temples  are  now  extant  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  when  we  read  Gibbon,  p.  65  :  "  In  Syria  (about 
A.D.  381)  the  divine  and  excellent  Marcellus  ...  re- 
solved to  level  with  the  ground  the  stately  temples  within 
the  diocese  of  Apamia,  .  .  .  and  he  successively  attacked 
the  villages  and  country  temples  of  the  diocese.  ...  A 
small  number  of  temples  was  protected  by  the  fears,  the 
venality,  the  taste,  or  the  prudence  of  the  civil  and  ecclesiasti- 
cal governors." 

The  synagogues  of  this  period  appear  to  form  a  distinct 
class  of  building  from  either  temple  or  church,  and,  on  look- 
ing at  their  orientation,  we  find  it  similar  to  neither  that  of 
church  or  temple  :  their  entrances  to  the  south,  or  facing  Jeru- 
salem. True  it  is  that  they  are  at  present  only  to  be  found 
in  Galilee,  so  that  perhaps  it  would  be  more  strictly  correct  to 
say  that  they  face  to  the  south.  One  synagogue  only  has 
been  discovered  south  of  Jerusalem  at  Beersheba,  but  the  dis- 
coverer (Mr  Church,  U.S.)  has  not  noted  its  orientation. 

The  architecture  of  these  synagogues  appears  as  though  it 
were  an  adaptation  to  the  Jewish  wants,  of  the  style  of  exist- 
ing temples  in  the  Lebanon. 

At  first  examination  it  would  appear  natural  to  expect  to 
find  the  chancel  (if  I  may  so  call  it)  of  the  synagogues  turned 
towards  Jerusalem,  and  the  entrance  to  the  north,  so  that  the 
people  should  turn  towards  their  kibleh  when  they  worship. 

But  there  is  another  method  of  viewing  the  subject — viz., 
by  continuing  the  principle  on  which  the  temple  was  built  to 
the  synagogues  also  :  the  temple  with  its  front  facing  the 
east,  from  which  the  glory  of  the  Lord  proceeded ;  the  syna- 


224     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

gogues  with  their  fronts  facing  the  temple,  in  which  the  glory 
of  the  Lord  resided. 

The  entrance  may  also  have  been  turned  toward  Jerusalem 
in  order  that  there  should  be  as  little  obstruction  as  possible 
between  the  worshippers  and  their  kibleh.  Thus  we  find 
Daniel  prayed,  his  windows  being  open  in  his  chamber 
toward  Jerusalem  ;  and  we  find  the  same  sentiments  running 
through  the  Eastern  mind  in  a  legend  given  in  Burton's 
"  Travels  in  Arabia,"  where  Mahomet,  either  at  Kuba  or  at 
the  Kibleytein,  being  uncertain  of  the  true  direction  of  Mecca, 
suddenly  saw  his  holy  city,  though  so  many  miles  off,  and  in 
spite  of  so  many  obstacles  naturally  intercepting  the  view. 
There  appear  to  be  several  allusions  in  the  Old  Testament  to 
the  habit  of  turning  towards  Jerusalem  in  prayer,  apart  from 
the  worship  in  the  temple  itself. 

In  examining  the  opinions  of  the  authorities  regarding  the 
direction  in  which  the  synagogues  should  face,  we  find  very 
conflicting  evidence. 

Vitringa  and  Buxtorf  make  Jerusalem  the  kibleh,  so  that 
worshippers,  when  they  entered  and  when  they  prayed,  looked 
towards  the  city.  Clemens  of  Alexandria  makes  the  east 
the  kibleh ;  and  Dr  Lightfoot,  quoting  from  the  Talmud, 
tells  us  that  the  chancel,  corresponding  to  the  Holy  of  Holies, 
was  towards  the  west,  the  people  facing  that  way.  Probably 
Clemens  of  Alexandria  only  referred  to  European  and 
African  synagogues,  and  thus  so  far  agrees  with  Vitringa 
and  Buxtorf ;  but  we  have  still  two  systems  left,  that  in  which 
the  chancel  is  towards  Jerusalem,  and  that  in  which  it  is  to 
the  east ;  and  finally,  we  have  the  existing  remains  disagree- 
ing with  both,  the  entrance  being  towards  Jerusalem,  and 
therefore  apparently  their  chancels  away  from  it.  The  Jews 
in  Jerusalem,  at  the  present  day,  state  they  should  face 
towards  Jerusalem  when  they  pray,  wherever  they  may  be, 
and  to  them  the  noble  sanctuary  is  still  the  kibleh.  Some 
Moorish  Jews  state  that,  during  certain  prayers,  they  face 
north  and  then  south. 

On  studying  the  orientation  of  early  Christian  churches,  we 


ORIENTATION  OF  ANCIENT  TEMPLES,  ETC.  225 

find  much  written  on  the  subject,  especially  in  the  works  of 
Mr  Asplin  and  Mr  Gregory,  in  the  early  part  of  the  last 
century.  These  writers,  taking  very  different  views,  have 
nearly  exhausted  the  subject,  without  bringing  us  to  any 
definite  conclusion,  owing,  in  some  measure,  I  apprehend,  to 
the  mistaken  opinion  that  the  Jews  worshipped  towards  the 
west,  whereas  they  worshipped  towards  the  mercy-seat, 
wherever  they  happened  to  be.  Mr  Asplin,  in  particular, 
who  has  investigated  the  subject  very  thoroughly,  is  con- 
stantly prevented  clenching  an  argument  by  the  view  he  has 
taken  as  to  the  western  worship  of  the  Jews.  There  is,  further, 
the  very  grave  difficulty  as  to  the  known  position  of  some  of 
the  early  churches ;  of  those  that  faced  north  or  south  there 
is  very  little  to  be  said.  They  were  so  placed,  no  doubt, 
owing  to  local  peculiarities  or  circumstances,  which  may  in- 
fluence any  rules,  like  that  of  St  Patrick  in  Ulster,  and  there 
is  no  occasion  to  refer  to  these  solitary  exceptions  ;  but  there 
are  cases  which  are  very  puzzling,  those  where  the  building 
lay  east  and  west,  the  chancel  to  the  west. 

Of  these  we  have  some  very  notable  instances,  viz.,  the 
churches  of  St  Peter  at  Rome,  the  church  of  Tyre,  and  the 
Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  ;  and  also  we  may  refer  to  the 
remark  of  Paulinus,  Bishop  of  Nola,  in  the  fourth  century,  who 
stated  of  his  church,  "  It  has  not  its  prospect  towards  the  east, 
as  the  more  usual  manner  is."  Mr  Asplin  goes  so  far  as  to 
quote  with  approval,  "  That  for  the  four  first  centuries  the 
general  situation  of  churches  was  directly  the  reverse  of  what 
we  now  behold,"  yet  he  owns  that  this  was  contrary  to 
the  received  opinion,  not  only  of  the  vulgar,  but  even  of  the 
generality  of  our  most  celebrated  and  learned  writers. 

The  key  to  this  difficulty  appears  to  me  to  lie  in  the  fact 
that  the  door  of  the  present  Holy  Sepulchre  happens  to  lie 
to  the  east,  and  therefore  the  churches  built  on  the  model 
of  that  erected  by  Constantine  over  this  sepulchre  must 
necessarily  have  had  their  entrance  to  the  east,  an  orientation 
therefore  due  to  this  exceptional  and  special  circumstance. 

The  question  may  reasonably  be  asked  by  Europeans  of 


226      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

the  present  day,  why  the  early  Christians  should  have  given 
any  orientation  to  their  churches,  seeing  that  the  Lord  is 
everywhere  ?  It  cannot  be  forgotten,  however,  that  the  early 
Christians,  whether  Jews,  Samaritans,  or  Gentiles,  were  all, 
more  or  less,  Orientals,  and  were  thoroughly  accustomed  to 
a  kibleh,  so  that  they  would  naturally  have  required  one,  both 
for  uniformity  and  to  satisfy  their  own  cravings ;  and  it 
appears  to  me  due  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  the 
consequent  loss  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  for  so  many  years, 
if  not  for  ever,  that  we  owe  our  present  immunity  from 
worship  towards  it.  Even  now  the  Arab  Christians  pay  the 
alleged  sepulchre  a  reverence  little  less  than  that  which  the 
Mohammedans  pay  their  black  stone ;  and  at  Easter  time, 
when  the  holy  fire  descends  from  heaven  upon  the  sepulchre, 
the  Arab  Christians  execute  a  towaf  around  it  in  a  very  similar 
manner  to  that  indulged  in  by  their  Mohammedan  brethren. 

The  Christians  of  the  world  have,  however,  escaped  the  use 
of  this  kibleh,  and  the  injurious  results  which  might  have 
resulted  to  Christianity  from  its  abuse.  There  is  yet,  how- 
ever, a  kibleh  which  the  Christians  have  used  from  the  earliest 
day,  the  east,  and  it  would  be  most  desirable  to  ascertain 
exactly  how  its  use  came  about.  Unfortunately  this  is  in- 
volved in  apparently  hopeless  obscurity.  Some  say  it  was  a 
protest  against  the  general  worship  of  Jew  and  Gentile  in 
their  temples  to  the  west,  but  here  it  is  forgotten  that  the 
Christian  religion  did  not  overturn  that  of  the  Jews,  but 
simply  amplified  and  fulfilled  it.  Others  say  that  the  sun- 
worship  having  disappeared,  with  a  few  isolated  exceptions, 
there  was  no  reason  why  the  Christians  should  not  return 
to  that  kibleh  from  which  the  Jews  had  departed  by  way  of 
protest,  having,  in  its  stead,  the  revealed  glory  in  their 
temples.  There  is  much  reason  in  this  argument,  for  the 
Shekinah  had  now  left  the  Jewish  temple.  Others  again  say 
that  it  was  simply  to  Jerusalem  that  Western  Christians  turn ; 
and  again,  others  that  it  was  to  the  Garden  of  Eden,  the 
Paradise  in  the  East.  It  appears  to  me  that  a  custom  may 
obtain  without  any  one  very  distinct  or  strong  influence,  if  an 


ORIENTATION  OF  ANCIENT  TEMPLES,  ETC.  227 

infinite  number  of  minor  influences  are  brought  to  bear  in  one 
direction.  For  example  :  all  early  Christians  being  Orientals, 
would,  as  we  are  aware,  require  a  kibleh,  but  being  Jews, 
Gentiles,  and  Samaritans,  they  would  all  have  had  various 
opinions  on  the  subject :  is  it  not,  then,  possible  that  the 
kibleh  to  the  east  may  have  been  that  most  agreeable  or  least 
disagreeable  to  the  feelings  of  each  individual  of  the  early 
congregation,  while  each  would  have  a  different  reason  for  the 
choice;  thus  the  custom  may  have  arisen  fortuitously?  While 
putting  forward  this  supposition,  I  do  not,  however,  myself 
think  that  our  kibleh  arose  in  this  manner.  I  am  inclined 
to  think  that  it  sprang  from  the  sentiments  on  the  subject 
which  seemed  to  pervade  the  human  race  when  not  ousted 
out  by  some  enforced  rite,  and  that  it  was  particularly  induced 
by  the  prophetic  allusions  to  the  Saviour  of  the  world  in  the 
Old  Testament,  wherein  the  references  to  the  east  are  most 
remarkable. 

We  have  allusion  to  the  glory  of  God  coming  by  way  of 
the  east,  and  also  the  Prince  by  the  east  gate  of  the  temple. 
He  is  called  the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  the  Morning  Star,  the 
Day-Spring  from  on  high.  How  is  it  possible  to  examine 
these  passages  without  instinctively  feeling  that  the  east  has 
to  us  a  charm  over  other  quarters  of  the  heavens,  to  which, 
even  in  our  daily  talk,  we  are  ever  unconsciously  alluding  ? 
From  the  time  when  Elijah  went  eastward  across  Jordon  to 
be  caught  up,  until  our  Saviour  departed  eastward  past  Olivet, 
we  have  continual  reference  to  that  as  the  special  quarter  of 
the  heavens,  and  it  should  not  therefore  be  surprising  that 
we  find  the  sentiment  deeply  engrained  in  the  minds  of  all 
people. 

Without  this  clue  it  would  be  most  baffling  and  unsatis- 
factory to  attempt  to  comprehend  how  the  Christian  writers 
could  have  got  hold  of  the  very  sentiments  common  to  the 
Egyptian  and  Greek  heathen.  We  are  told  that,  at  Christian 
baptism  in  early  times,  the  catechumens  were  obliged  to  stand 
facing  the  west  and  renounce  Satan  with  gestures  and  out- 
stretched hand,  as  though  he  were  present — the  west  being 


228      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

the  place  of  darkness  and  strength  of  Satan — and  then  to  turn 
about  to  the  east  and  make  a  covenant  to  the  Sun  of  Right- 
eousness, and  promise  to  be  His  servant. 

Clemens  Alexandrinus  says  that  they  worshipped  towards 
the  east  because  the  east  is  the  image  of  our  spiritual  nativity, 
and  from  thence  the  light  first  arises  and  shines  out  of  dark- 
ness, and  the  day  of  true  knowledge,  after  the  manner  of  the 
sun,  arises  upon  those  who  lie  buried  in  ignorance. 

How  exactly  this  dual  sentiment  regarding  east  and  west, 
day  and  night,  good  and  evil,  darkness  and  light,  agrees  with 
those  of  the  ancient  heathen !  Hesiod  tells  us  that  they  con- 
sidered the  abode  of  night  in  the  west,  behind  where  Atlas 
supports  the  heavens,  where  others  thought  the  isles  of  the 
dead  lay. 

And  the  funereal  Sphinx,  image  of  the  setting  sun,  was 
made  by  the  Egyptians  gazing  into  the  east,  as  it  were  into 
futurity.  To  the  ancients  the  sun-symbolical  representation 
of  life,  light,  heat,  and  goodness,  lay  in  the  east. 

The  more  we  consider  the  subject  the  more  identical  appear 
the  views  on  certain  points  of  Christians,  Jews,  Mohammedans, 
and  heathen,  covered  only  with  a  slight  veil  of  difference;  and 
we  might  almost  feel  inclined  to  soften  down  the  horror  with 
which  we  are  filled  against  heathen  rites  and  ceremonies,  and 
view  them  as  kindred  allegories  to  our  own,  were  we  not 
checked  by  the  remembrance  of  their  horrible  application, 
resulting  in  atrocities  and  crimes  which  have  never  in  the 
same  degree  disgraced  Jewish  and  Christian  people,  showing 
that  there  is  a  difference  equal  to  that  between  light  and 
darkness. 

Distinct,  however,  from  the  application  of  their  religion  to 
themselves,  there  are,  to  us  Christians,  sublime  lessons  to  be 
learnt  in  their  veriest  fables,  which  the  merest  children  can 
understand,  as,  for  example,  the  fable  of  the  ascent  of 
Mahomet  into  the  seven  heavens,  which,  in  its  gross  form, 
veils  a  beautiful  allegory.  I  will  only  instance  that  portion 
which  describes  the  repentant  sinner  penetrated  with  God's 
grace : 


ORIENTATION  OF  ANCIENT  TEMPLES,  ETC.  229 

"  The  face  of  the  Deity  was  covered  with  20,000  veils,  for  it  would 
have  annihilated  man  to  look  upon  its  glory.  He  put  forth  His  hands, 
and  placed  one  upon  the  heart  and  the  other  upon  the  shoulder  of 
Mahomet,  who  felt  a  freezing  chill  penetrating  to  his  heart  and  to 
the  very  marrow  of  his  bones.  It  was  followed  by  a  feeling  of 
ecstatic  bliss,  while  a  sweetness  and  fragrance  prevailed  around, 
which  none  can  understand  but  those  who  have  been  in  the  Divine 
presence." 

In  conclusion,  let  me  briefly  recapitulate  the  principal  heads 
of  the  system  of  orientation  which  I  have  endeavoured  to 
trace  : 

First,  we  find  the  worship  in  early  days  generally  towards 
the  east,  in  groves  and  on  high  places  ;  the  custom  kept  in  its 
integrity  by  the  faithful,  but  degenerating  to  the  worship  of 
the  sun  and  host  of  heaven,  of  stocks  and  stones,  by  the 
heathen.  The  very  manifestations  themselves  to  the  faithful 
appear  to  be  parodied  and  travestied  by  the  heathen.  The 
Hebrews  are  educated  as  a  separate  people  in  Egypt,  as 
bondsmen,  and  are  sent  into  Palestine  to  root  out  the  Hamitic 
idolatries,  and  are  specially  interdicted  from  the  form  of 
worship  of  their  forefathers  Abraham^  Isaac,  and  Jacob.  To 
make  their  religious  ceremonies  completely  distinct,  the 
worship  towards  the  east  is  given  up,  and  that  glory  they 
formerly  turned  to  in  the  east  is  now  located  in  the  tabernacle, 
to  which  they  turn  in  prayer,  and  which,  on  account  of  the 
position  given  to  it,  causes  them  to  turn  their  backs  on  the 
rising  sun  during  their  worship.  This  takes  place  in  1400  B.C., 
and  about  800  years  afterwards,  viz.,  in  600  B.C.,  we  have  the 
first  signs  of  the  heathen  following  the  custom  in  like  manner, 
as  can  be  seen  in  the  temples  at  Athens.  By  the  time 
Jerusalem  was  destroyed,  the  worship  generally  had  changed 
to  west;  and  on  Christianity  being  established,  the  early 
members  of  our  church  turned  for  many  reasons  to  the  old 
kibleh,  the  east,  and  the  custom  has  continued  to  this  day. 
The  question  of  kiblehs  generally  is  discussed. 

And  now,  in  taking  leave  of  the  subject,  let  me  say  that  I 
cannot  expect  others  to  be  satisfied  with  the  result  of  this 


230      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

paper  any  more  than  I  am  myself.  I  feel  that,  in  discussing 
the  subject,  we  are  groping  in  the  dark,  but  I  cannot  help 
thinking  that  the  knowledge  we  are  daily  getting  of  the 
religions  of  the  world  generally  will  enable  us  shortly  to  see 
the  question  less  dimly ;  and  I  shall  feel  quite  contented  to 
think  that  I  may  have  been  instrumental,  through  this  paper, 
in  drawing  attention  to  subjects  which  have  not  usually  been 
brought  much  in  contact,  and  that  some  new  ideas  may 
result.  That  this  subject  is  intimately  connected  with  the 
history  of  mankind,  the  affinity  of  races,  their  customs  and 
ceremonies,  I  think  there  can  be  no  doubt. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  THE  CRADLE  OF 
HENRY  V. 

BY  WILLIAM  WATKINS  OLD,  ESQ., 
Fellow  of  the  Royal  Historical  Society. 

THE  venerable  relic  which  is  the  subject  of  this  paper  is  a 
wooden  cot  (or  cradle,  as  it  has  been  called)  of  unquestionable 
antiquity,  traditionally  said  to  have  been  the  cradle  of  the  hero 
of  Agincourt,  the  glory  of  Monmouth,  Henry  V. 

Lambarde,  in  his  "  Topographical  Dictionary,"  speaking  of 
the  destruction  of  Monmouth  Castle  in  the  thirteenth  century, 
writes  :  "  Thus  the  glorie  of  Monmouth  had  cleane  perished, 
ne  had  it  pleased  God  longe  after  in  that  place  to  give  life 
to  the  noble  King  Hen.  V."  ("  Alphabetical  Description  of  the 
Chief  Places  in  England  and  Wales,"  by  William  Lambarde, 
first  published  in  1730).  It  may  befit  me,  therefore,  as  an 
inhabitant  of  this  town,  to  use  my  endeavour  to  preserve  from 
perishing  the  memory  of  an  object  which  tradition  has  asso- 
ciated with  him  who  has  given  undying  fame  to  my  place  of 
residence,  and  which  for  a  period  of  many  years  has  been 
lost  to  us.  Tradition,  of  course,  is  not  evidence.  But  where 
direct  testimony  is  not  to  be  obtained,  and  in  the  absence  of 
authoritative  contradiction,  it  must  be  accepted  as  of  a  certain 
weight  and  worth.  It  will  generally'  be  found  to  be  built 
upon  a  substratum  of  fact,  and  although,  in  process  of  time, 
the  groundwork  is  almost  invariably  distorted,  it  is  rarely 
destroyed.  Should  there  be  nothing,  then,  but  tradition  to 
link  this  rare  example  of  mediaeval  furniture  with  the  House 
of  Plantagenet  and  the  town  of  Monmouth,  it  would  not,  I 
opine,  be  beneath  the  notice  of  those  whose  professed  aim  is 
to  classify  the  stores  of  the  past  and  to  preserve  everything 


232      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

connected  with  those  of  our  forefathers  whose  history  is  an 
honour  to  our  land. 

I  may  be  allowed  to  observe,  in  the  first  place,  that  speci- 
mens of  beds  and  cradles  prior  to  the  sixteenth  century  are 
very  rare ;  and  I  believe  the  cot  in  question  is  a  unique 
example  of  such  an  object  claiming  to  belong  to  the  four- 
teenth century.  This  is  the  more  extraordinary,  inasmuch  as 
such  articles  of  domestic  use  do  not  wear  out  very  quickly, 
being  usually  made  of  hard  wood,  unexposed  to  weather  or 
violence ;  and  in  the  Middle  Ages  they  were  deemed  of  such 
value  as  to  be  often  specially  mentioned  in  the  wills  of  people 
of  quality.  No  trace  exists  of  "  my  new  bed  of  red  velvet 
embroidered  with  ostrich  feathers  of  silver,  and  heads  of 
leopards  of  gold,  with  boughs  and  leaves  issuing  out  of  their 
mouths,"  which  the  mother  of  Richard  II.  left  to  her  "dear 
son  the  king."  The  tattered  remains  of  the  old  bed,  called 
the  bed  of  Henry  V.,  which  Coxe  mentions  in  his  history  of 
Monmouthshire  as  having  been  long  exhibited  at  the  mansion 
of  Courtfield,  have  vanished  and  left  "  not  a  rack  behind." 
What  has  become  of  the  "  little  cradille  of  tre  in  a  frame 
coueryd  and  painted  with  fyne  golde  and  devises,  of  a  yerd  and 
a  quarter  longe,  and  in  bred  xxij  inches,"  which  is  ordered  in 
a  manuscript  of  "  Ceremonies  and  Services  in  Court,"  temp. 
Henry  VII.  ?  or,  still  more,  of  the  "  gret  cradille  of  estat,  con- 
tenynge  in  length  v  foot  and  half,  in  bred  ij  foot  and  a  half, 
coueryd  in  clothe  of  gold,"  of  the  same  order-book  ?  ("  Anti- 
quarian Repertory,"  vol.  i.,  p.  336.)  Rich  coverlids  were  pro- 
vided for  the  above;  as  also  we  find  "  a  pane  and  a  head  shete 
for  ye  cradell  of  the  same  sute,  both  furred  with  mynever,"  in 
an  inventory  of  Reginald  de  la  Pole,  in  the  fifteenth  century 
(Turner's  "  Domestic  Architecture  in  England,  from  Rich.  II. 
to  Hen.  VIII,"  1859,  vol.  Hi.,  p.  106).  But  of  all  such 
things,  however  treasured  in  their  day,  not  a  vestige  has  come 
down  to  us,  except  the  venerable  claimant  which  is  the  sub- 
ject of  this  essay. 

A  false  reputation  for  antiquity  is  so  common  that  it  makes 
one  regard  every  claim  with  distrust.  I  am  told  that  the 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  THE  CRADLE  OF  HENRY  V.      233 

"  fourteenth-century  funeral  pall,"  lent  by  the  Fishmongers' 
Company  to  the  Exhibition  of  Art  Needlework  in  1873,  which 
was  stated  to  have  been  used  at  the  obsequies  of  Sir  William 
Wai  worth  in  the  time  of  Richard  II.,  has  since  been  proved, 
by  the  armorial  bearings  on  it,  to  be  of  at  least  two  centuries 
later  date.  The  history  of  Edward's  Tower  in  Carnarvon 
Castle  is  a  parallel  instance  which  will  occur  to  every  archae- 
ologist. The  relic  of  which  I  am  treating  may,  in  like  manner, 
be  discovered  by  some  future  iconoclast  to  be  an  impostor ; 
but,  meanwhile,  I  will  bring  forward  and  record  such  claims 
as  it  has,  and  will  adduce  no  opinion  without  producing  my 
authority  for  the  same. 

The  so-called  cradle  of  Henry  V.,  of  which  I  submit  a  re- 
presentation, is  different  in  form  from   any  of  the  antique 


cradles  I  have  met  with,  delineated  m  illuminated  MSS.  It 
is,  in  fact,  a  cot,  and  not  a  cradle.  It  belongs  rather  to  the 
lecti  pensiles  mentioned  by  Joannes  Alstorphius  in  his  "  Dis- 
sertatio  Philologia  de  Lectis  Veterum,"  which  cradle-beds  are 
said  by  Mercurialis,  in  his  work,  "  De  Arte  Gymnastica,"  to 
have  been  invented  by  the  Bithynian  physician,  Asclepiades 
("De  lecti  pensilis,  cunarum,  ac  navis  gestationem  faculta- 
tibus.  Qui  primo  lectulos  pensiles  excogitavit  Asclepiades." 


234     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

— Mercurial!  De  Arte  Gymnastica).  Ducange,  in  his  Glossary, 
speaks  of  cradles  suspended  by  cords,  which  would  more 
resemble  the  cot  under  consideration.  But  there  is  one  thing  in 
common  with  them  all — the  peculiarity  of  an  arrangement  for 
a  crossed  band  to  prevent  the  child  from  tumbling  out.  This 
may  be  noticed  in  the  twelfth-century  bas-relief  from  the 
cathedral  of  Chartres,  in  Willemin's  "  Monuments  Fran9ais 
In^dits  "  (planche  74,  meubles  du  xiime  siecle),  "  Berceau  garni 
de  ses  sangles  croise'es,  precaution  usitee  encore  dans  quelques 
contrdes  et  qui  avait  pour  but  d'empecher  1'enfant  de  tomber ; " 
and  again  in  the  fifteenth-century  cradle,  from  a  manuscript 
in  the  Bibliotheque  du  Roi  (No.  6896),  "  Le  petit  bers  ou 
berceau  garni  de  ses  bandelettes  pour  preserver  1'enfant  des 
dangers  d'une  chute." 

In  my  drawing  of  the  cradle  of  Henry  V.,  the  openings  for 
the  lacing  of  the  band  appear,  three  on  each  side,  while  at  the 
base  are  small  holes  through  which  a  cord  passes  across  the 
bottom  to  support  the  mattress. 

The  measurement  has  been  given  with  slight  variations  in 
sundry  works.  According  to  my  own,  its  size  runs  : 

Length,  38  inches. 

Width  at  head,  19!  inches;  at  foot,  17^  inches. 

Depth,  17  inches. 

Height  of  supports,  including  foot,  36  inches. 

The  wood  is  in  places  worm-eaten,  and  it  is  become 
rickety.  One  of  the  carved  supports  is  very  much  decayed. 
Though  all  beauty  has  disappeared  from  what  was  originally 
a  handsome  and  solid  piece  of  furniture,  traces  of  gilding  and 
red  paint  can  still  be  detected  here  and  there,  on  close  exam- 
ination, and  the  carving  of  the  spandrels  and  the  birds  perched 
on  the  supports  is  remarkably  bold  and  characteristic.  I  am 
sorry  to  say  some  pieces  of  carved  wood  of  anachronistic 
style  have  been  inserted,  of  late  years,  in  the  corners ;  while 
the  old  plain  rail  beneath  has  been  replaced  by  similar  carved 
work.  This  does  not  appear  in  Mr  Shaw's  excellent  engrav- 
ing of  the  cradle,  in  his  great  work  on  mediaeval  furniture 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  THE  CRADLE  OF  HENRY  V.      235 

(H.  Shaw  &  Mey rick's  "  Specimens  of  Ancient  Furniture," 
fol.  1836) ;  and  the  difference  will  at  once  be  observed  on 
comparing  my  drawing  with  any  of  the  old  engravings  ;  but 
I  have  authority  to  state  that  these  deplorable  additions  were 
made  before  it  came  into  the  possession  of  the  father  of  the 
Rev.  George  Weare  Braikenridge,  the  present  owner.  The 
entire  chattel  exhibits  an  appearance  of  archaic  simplicity ; 
and  it  has  a  far  more  ancient  aspect  than  the  cradle  of 
James  I.,  preserved  at  Alloa  Park,  the  seat  of  the  Earl  of 
Mar,  a  drawing  of  which  appears  in  Nichol's  "  Progresses." 
In  the  fine  museum  of  its  present  owner,  where  the  cradle 
opcupies  a  place  of  honour,  every  care  is  taken  of  this  precious 
relic ;  and  should  such  care  continue  and  the  ravages  of  the 
Anobium  beetle  be  stopped,  as  they  might  easily  be,  there  is 
no  reason  why  this  antiquity  might  not  continue,  for  many 
a  century  to  come,  a  unique  example  of  mediaeval  cabinet- 
work, and  a  memento  of  one  of  the  greatest  and  worthiest  of 
our  kings.  The  cradle  could  not  be  in  better  hands  than 
those  of  Mr  Braikenridge,  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Historical 
Society,  whose  refined  taste  and  antiquarian  proclivities 
render  him  the  worthy  guardian  of  the  many  treasures  of 
mediaeval  art  which  his  museum  contains. 

I  fancy  it  is  Sir  Thomas  Browne  in  his  "  Garden  of  Cyrus," 
who  remarks  that  nothing  is  ever  so  lost  that  diligent  research 
cannot  bring  it  to  light ;  and  he  goes  on  to  surmise  that  it 
would  not  be  impossible  to  recover  the  ground-plan  of  the 
tower  of  Babel,  or  the  song  of  the  Sirens,  or  the  language  of 
Paradise !  Without  striving  after  anything  so  recondite, 
I  must  confess  I  have  more  than  once  almost  despaired  of 
ever  coming  upon  the  track  of  the  cradle  of  Henry  V.,  con- 
cerning which  I  read  twenty  years  ago  in  topographical 
works  relating  to  the  county  of  Monmouth,  and  of  which 
I  was  then  assured,  by  local  antiquaries,  that  not  a  trace  was 
to  be  found.  I  should  be  almost  ashamed  to  admit  how 
shortsighted  and  futile  my  endeavours  have  been,  did  I  not 
know  that  others  far  more  influential  and  intelligent  than 
myself  have  also  sought  the  same  object,  and  sought  in  vain. 


236      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

For  upwards  of  seventy  years  the  cradle  had  been  missing  ; 
and  although  once  during  that  period  a  description,  by  an 
eye-witness,  and  an  engraving  of  it  was  published,  it  does  not 
seem  to  have  caught  the  attention  of  local  antiquaries ;  and 
when,  last  summer,  I  determined  to  make  a  fresh  effort  to 
obtain  intelligence  respecting  the  missing  chattel,  the  point 
from  which  I  had  to  start  was  the  commencement  of  the 
present  century. 

In  the  year  1804,  Mr  Charles  Heath  of  Monmouth  pub- 
lished his  "  Historical  and  Descriptive  Account  of  the  Ancient 
and  Present  State  of  the  Town  of  Monmouth ;  including 
a  variety  of  particulars  deserving  the  stranger's  notice  relating 
to  the  Borough  and  its  neighbourhood,  collected  from  original 
papers  and  unquestionable  authorities,  the  whole  never  before 
published."  In  this  book  is  an  account  of  "  the  cradle  in 
which  King  Henry  the  Fifth  was  nursed  when  an  infant." 
And  the  following  description  being  written  by  a  person  who 
had  himself  seen  the  cradle,  I  felt  I  had  some  solid  ground  to 
go  upon,  though  I  had  been  more  than  once  assured  that  the 
very  fact  of  its  existence  was  mythical : 

"  This  highly  curious  and  interesting  relique,"  Mr  Heath  proceeds, 
"  was  the  property  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Ball,  vicar  of  Newland,  in 
Gloucestershire ;  but  at  the  time  of  my  visit  to  inspect  it  a  few  years 
ago,  such  was  the  estimation  in  which  it  was  then  held,  that  it  was 
consigned  to  a  garret  of  an  untenanted  house,  as  an  associate  of  the 
most  useless  lumber. 

"  According  to  the  account  which  Mr  Ball  gave  of  its  descent,  it 
appears  '  that  one  of  his  ancestors  had  been  employed  as  a  rocker  to 
the  prince — that  it  became  an  honorary  present  to  him,  in  conse- 
quence of  his  situation  in  the  royal  household — and  had  continued 
as  an  heirloom  in  the  family  down  to  its  then  possessor.' 

"  The  body  of  the  cradle,"  writes  Mr  Heath,  "  which  is  wider  at 
one  end  than  the  other,  is  suspended  by  staples,  and  a  ring  at  each 
end,  from  two  pillars  joined  by  framework ;  a  carved  bird  perches  at 
the  top  of  each,  with  foliage  at  the  feet ;  it  has  six  long  holes  at  the 
upper  edge  for  the  rockers  (three  on  each  side),  and  twelve  round 
holes  at  the  bottom  for  cordage  to  pass  through,  which  formerly  was 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  THE  CRADLE  OF  HENRY  V.      237 

for  supporting  a  rush-mattress,  upon  which  beds  of  the  best  fashion 
in  this  country  were  used  to  be  laid.  A  full  inclination  is  shown  to 
add  all  the  ornament  'the  workman's  planes  would  afford  upon  the 
sides,  which  are  carved  with  variety  of  irregular  mouldings,  struck 
from  end  to  end  :  although  it  is  remarkable  that  this  Cambrian  artist 
seems  to  have  been  unacquainted  either  with  dovetailing  or  mitring, 
the  ends  being  plain  boards  to  keep  out  and  fasten  the  sides  to, 
which  is  done  simply  with  nails ;  and  yet  the  carving  of  the  birds, 
and  foliage  to  the  pillars,  between  which  it  swings,  are  specimens  of 
better  execution.  Old  wainscoting  of  excellent  impannelling  carved 
in  this  style,  has  frequently  no  better  joinings.  Whence  it  appears 
that  those  who  executed  the  nicer  parts  were  not  employed  to  put 
the  work  together.  Its  dimensions  are  three  feet  two  inches  long ; 
one  foot  eight  inches  wide  at  the  head ;  one  foot  five  inches  three- 
quarters  at  the  foot ;  and  one  foot  five  inches  deep.  It  is  made  of 
oak,  inch  and  half  thick,  and  the  pillars  are  two  feet  ten  inches 
from  the  ground  to  the  top  of  the  birds.* 

"  The  Rev.  Mr  Ball  was  a  very  sensible  and  intelligent  character, 
and  lived  to  an  extreme  age — nor  does  there  exist  a  doubt  among 
well-informed  persons  in  this  neighbourhood  but  that  the  cradle  was 
originally  devoted  to  the  use  of  the  royal  infant.  On  the  decease  of 

the  Rev.  Mr  Ball,  it  was  presented  by  his  son  to Whitehead, 

Esq.  of  Horn-brook,  French-hay,  near  Bristol,  in  whose  possession  it 
now  remains,  and  who,  I  am  informed,  justly  appreciates  its  value. 
Greatly  indeed  it  is  to  be  lamented  that  some  character  of  fortune 
in  the  county  did  not  endeavour  to  fix  it  at  Monmouth — since,  by  its 
removal,  its  history  is  done  entirely  away." 

So  far  Heath,  an  enthusiastic  historian,  but  not  always 
accurate.  The  name  of  the  incumbent  of  Newland  was  Pere- 
grine not  Thomas  Ball.  Why  the  passage  "  that  one  of  his 
ancestors  had  been,"  etc.,  *s  placed  within  inverted  commas, 
I  cannot  say;  but  I  remark  that  a  long  quotation  from 
Bonnor,  which  follows,  is  not  so  distinguished.  In  speaking 
of  the  "  prince  "  and  the  "  royal  household,"  Heath  was  simply 
blundering,  inasmuch  as  Henry  of  Bolingbroke  was  only  Earl 

*  "These  birds  had  been  gilt,  but  owing  to  lapse  of  time,  and  damp,  or  other 
cause,  the  gilding  is  nearly  effaced,  except  in  a  few  interstices  of  the  feathers  of 
the  wings." 


238      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

of  Derby  at  the  time  of  the  birth  of  his  son  and  heir,  and  had 
no  pretensions  to  the  throne.  His  utter  ignorance  on  this 
score  is  continually  apparent.  He  says  "at  the  time  the 
queen  was  pregnant  with  her  son  and  heir,  the  king  was 
engaged  in  state  affairs  at  Windsor,"  and  in  this  he  follows  the 
blunders  of  others ;  but  I  fancy  it  was  from  his  own  imagina- 
tion that  he  described  the  rocker  as  an  officer  of  the  royal 
household,  who  obtained  the  cradle  "in  consequence  of  his 
situation."  The  holes  said  to  be  "  for  the  rockers  "  are  the 
holes  for  the  lacing  band,  before  mentioned ;  but  this  error 
occurs  in  the  quotation  from  Bonnor.  The  measurement  is 
slightly  different  from  my  own  and  from  Bonnor's.  Lastly, 
Horn-brook  should  be  Hambrook. 
From  this  account  we  can  gather  certain  original  statements. 

1.  That  Heath  himself  had  seen  the  cradle   in  a  neglected 
state  at  Newland,  a  few  years  previous  to  1804.     Now,  from 
the  First  Fruits  Papers  in  the  Record  Office,  Gloucester  divi- 
sion, I  learn  that  the  Rev.  Peregrine  Ball  was  appointed  to 
the  vicarage  of  Newland  2Oth  February   1745-46,  and  was 
succeeded    on   his   death   by   the   Rev.   John   Probyn,   26th 
December  1794.     There  is  every  reason  to  conclude  that  Mr 
Ball  was  dead  at  the  time  of  Heath's  visit.     The  quotation 
of  Mr  Ball's  account  reads  as  though  Heath  had  received  it 
from  some  other  person,  who  showed  him  over  the  house ; 
and,  though  he  afterwards  speaks  of  Mr  Ball  as  a  very  sensible 
and  intelligent  character,  he  does  not  state  that  he  had  been  in 
personal  communication  with  him,  which  there  is  little  doubt 
he  would  otherwise  have  done.    I  think  it  most  probable,  there- 
fore, that  Heath  examined  the  cradle  about  the  close  of  1794, 
before  it  had  been  removed  to  Mr  Ball's  son's  residence  at  St 
Briavels,  whither  it  appears  to  have  been  taken  ;   and  very 
likely  it  was  at  the  sale  of  the  effects  of  the  old  vicar.     From 
this  time  of  Heath's  examination,  till  eighty  years  afterwards, 
when  I  lighted  upon  it  in  Mr  Braikenridge's  museum,  I  believe 
no  Monmouth  person  had  ever  seen  it,  nor  was  it  believed  to 
be  any  longer  in  existence. 

2.  That  the  well-informed  people  of  the  neighbourhood  then 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  THE  CRADLE  OF  HENRY  V.      239 

regarded  the  cradle  as  a  genuine  relic,  and  that  Mr  Ball,  who 
lived  to  an  extreme  age,  always  asserted  the  tradition. 

3.  That  the  gilding  of  the  birds  ivas  still  visible  though  nearly 
effaced. 

4.  That  it  was  in  the  possession  of  Mr  Whitehead  of  Ham- 
brook,  French-hay,  near  Bristol,  as  late  as  1 804,  who  was  said 
to  justly  appreciate  its  value. 

5.  That  its  removal  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Monmotith 
was  at  once  felt  to  be  a  loss  to  the  town,  as  well  as  a  detraction 
from  the  interest  of  this  relic. 

The  same  year  that  Heath  published  his  history  of  Mon- 
mouth,  Bingley's  "  Tour  through  North  Wales  "  appeared,  in 
which,  according  to  Sir  Samuel  Meyrick  ("  Specimens  of  Anci- 
ent Furniture  "),  was  a  representation  of  the  cradle.  My  copy 
of  the  book,  however,  does  not  contain  it.  In  1818  the  Rev. 
T.  D.  Fosbrooke  published  "  The  Wye  Tour,"  and  gave  in  it 
a  description  of  another  cradle  which,  for  some  forty  or  fifty 
years,  usurped  the  title  of  the  cradle  of  Henry  V.,  and  of 
which  anon.  Fosbrooke  at  the  same  time  referred  to  "that 
of  Henry  V.,  once  preserved  at  Newland — a  wooden  oblong 
chest,  without  tester,  swinging  by  links  of  iron  between  two 
posts,  surmounted  by  two  birds  for  ornament,"  which  descrip- 
tion is  stated  to  be  "  from  the  engraving."  He  goes  on : 
"  This  looks  much  more  ancient  than  that  at  Troy,  which  has 
a  tester,  rockers,  and  is  covered  with  crimson  velvet,  but  this 
is  similar  to  ancient  royal  cradles."  The  engraving  above 
mentioned  was,  I  presume,  Bonnor's,  which  Fosbrooke  repro- 
duced on  a  very  small  scale  in  his  "  Encyclopaedia  of  Anti- 
quities," 4to,  1825  (plate,  fig.  i.  "The  cradle  of  Henry  V., 
misnomered  of  Edward  II.,  see  Archeol.  vi.  336").  Under 
the  heading  "  Cradle"  is  a  similar  description  to  the  above  : 
"  In  the  Middle  Ages  we  find  cradles  suspended  by  cords  and 
covered  with  cloth.  That  of  Henry  V.  is  a  wooden  oblong 
chest,  swinging  by  links  of  iron  between  two  posts,  surmounted 
by  two  birds  for  ornament." 

Fosbrooke's  knowledge  of  the  cradle,  we  therefore  see,  was 
limited  to  an  old  engraving.  He  states  that  if  resembles 


240      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

ancient  royal  cradles;  but  I  do  not  know  upon  what  au- 
thority. 

In  1841,  Mr  Leitch  Ritchie  published  "The  Wye  and  its 
Associations."  Speaking  of  Courtfield,  he  observes,  "  The  re- 
mains of  a  bed  and  an  old  cradle  were  formerly  shown  as 
relics  of  the  Monmouth  hero." 

In  1843,  in  the  "  Dictionnaire  Iconographique  des  Monuments 
de  lAntiquit<y  by  L.  J.  Guenebault,  we  find,  under  the  head- 
ing, "  Berceaux  d'Enfant,"  the  cradle  is  mentioned  "  de  Henry 
V.,  roi  d'Angleterre,  ouvrage  de  1400 — Shaw."  I  need  scarcely 
point  out  that,  if  genuine,  the  cradle  must  have  been  made  at 
least  twelve  or  thirteen  years  before  the  above  date.  The 
author  seems  to  have  known  of  it  only  through  the  before- 
mentioned  "  Specimens  of  Ancient  Furniture." 

In  1850,  in  a  number  of  the  Monmouthshire  Gazette,  ap- 
peared the  following  letter,  bearing  upon  the  subject : 

"Sx  BRIAVELS,  April  1850. — SIR, — It  is  so  much  the  fashion  in 
our  day  to  look  back  to  olden  time,  that  anything  bearing  the 
stamp  of  antiquity  is  regarded  as  interesting;  be  it  an  old  book, 
an  old  table,  an  antique  high-backed  chair,  or  any  other  article 
that  may  have  been  in  daily  use  by  our  grandmothers  generations 
back.  This  feeling  seems  to  have  been  on  the  increase  since  the 
close  of  the  great  war  in  1815  ;  and  having  no  further  fights  or 
deeds  of  glory  of  our  own  to  talk  about,  we  commence  thinking 
of  days  gone  by,  and  the  relics  left  of  those  times  and  doings.  I, 
therefore,  being  possessed  of  the  like  feeling,  have  an  itching  to 
enlighten  my  neighbours  with  respect  to  an  'old  cradle;'  not  the 
stately  cot  with  damask  curtains  sweeping  the  ground,  lined  and 
befringed  in  modern  style,  such  as  those  we  now  see  elevated 
in  the  window  of  the  fashionable  emporium  of  our  great  cities, 
but  one  formed  of  good  old-fashioned  heart  of  oak,  pannelled  and 
carved  with  demons  of  monstrous  shapes,  flying  serpents  with 
forked  tongues,  both  hooked  and  barbed,  enough  to  scare  the  cry- 
ing babe  to  silence,  did  it  but  know  the  horrid  figures  that  watch 
its  slumbers;  and,  withal,  so  firmly  put  together  that  it  might 
have  cradled  royalty  ever  since  the  days  of  its  first  princely  occu- 
pant down  to  the  early  part  of  the  present  century,  at  which  date 
I  have  some  faint  recollections  of  having  seen  it.  The  tradition 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  THE  CRADLE  OF  HENRY  V.      241 

connected  with  it  was  called  to  my  remembrance  by  reading  in  a 
local  paper  of  the  present  year  a  notice  of  this  very  cradle,  or, 
4  our  cradle;'  as  it  certainly  should  at  this  day  be  reposing,  after 
all  its  rockings  and  tossings,  in  '  our  village,'  and  would  conse- 
quently be  '  our  cradle.'  Sir,  have  you  in  your  walks  among  the 
humble  cottages  of  Wales  ever  seen  the  old  wooden  cradle  that, 
rocked  by  force,  sends  forth  a  cry  of  seeming  sympathy  with  the 
helpless  babe  within  ?  If  so,  you  have  some  idea  of  my  cradle  that 
rocked  to  sleep,  not  far  distant  from  the  banks  of  the  Wye  and 
Monnow,  the  warlike  Harry  of  Monmouth  who  stands  amongst 
you  the  admiration  of  every  one.  You  have  your  hero  always  to 
look  upon ;  we  had  the  cradle  that  rocked  to  sleep  that  hero ; 
it  is  gone  from  us  for  ever — sold  for  a  mess  of  pottage  or  flattery. 
The  tradition,  as  handed  to  me  by  my  late  father  is  this :  In 
the  village  of  Newland,  near  Monmouth,  lived  in  the  last  century, 
the  Rev.  Peregrine  Ball,  vicar  of  the  former  place  for  forty-five 
years,  and  in  whose  possession  was  the  cradle  in  which  Harry 
of  Monmouth  had  been  nursed.  The  rev.  gentleman  often  related 
the  way  in  which  it  came  into  his  family,  tracing  it  back  as  hav- 
ing belonged  to  an  aunt  of  his  great-grandmother,  but  there  the 
record  of  its  earlier  days  is  lost;  still  the  cradle  bore  the  stamp 
of  its  antiquity  and  royal  purpose,  its  genuineness  never  being 
doubted,  though  no  account  has  been  preserved  as  to  the  direct 
way  in  which  it  had  been  handed  down  to  posterity  till  about 
the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  when  it  came  into  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Ball  family.  How  desirable  would  it  be  if  some  one 
could  give  us  further  information  as  to  its  earlier  career.  After 
the  decease  of  the  old  vicar,  his  only  son  removed  to  '  our  village,' 
bringing  with  him  the  cradle.  Years  rolled  on,  and  reverse  of  fortune 
affected  the  mind  of  him  who  possessed  this  valuable  piece  of  anti- 
quity. The  lady  who  presided  over  his  household,  in  an  unlucky 
moment,  was  induced  to  lend  this  precious  relic,  in  order  that  a 
drawing  might  be  taken  of  it  for  a  society  in  London,  and  on  board 
a  Brockweir  boat,  plying  from  thence  to  Bristol,  was  shipped  'our 
cradle* — shipped  did  I  say? — thrown  on  board  a  Brockweir  trow, 
treated  as  lumber  during  its  transit,  and  at  Bristol  tumbled  out  on 
the  landing-place,  and  taken  away  by  strangers  !  Years  afterwards 
application  was  made  for  its  restoration  ;  no  reply  was  ever  given,  as 
far  as  could  be  ascertained.  Mr  Ball  became  imbecile  and  died,  the 

Q 


242      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

lady  left  our  village,  and  this  most  valuable  and  interesting  relic, '  our 
cradle/  was  lost  to  us  for  ever.  C." 

The  principal  interest  of  this  epistle  is,  that  it  is  the  evidence 
of  some  one  between  fifty  and  sixty  years  of  age  who  had  seen 
the  cradle  at  tJie  village  of  St  Briavels,  in  Gloucestershire,  about 
the  commencement  of  tJie  present  century,  and  who  had  heard  its 
history  from  his  father.  As  usual  with  all  oral  accounts, 
there  is  a  certain  amount  of  truth  in  this  narrative  mixed  up 
with  a  deal  of  error.  We  have  seen  the  Rev.  Peregrine  Ball 
held  Newland  forty-nine,  and  not  forty-five,  years.  The 
childish  imagination  of  the  narrator  transformed  the  carven 
foliage  and  arabesques  of  the  spandrels  into  serpents  and 
demons ;  and  its  having  been  located  for  a  very  short  while 
in  our  village,  during  the  early  youth  of  the  writer,  seemed 
to  him  to  make  it  our  property.  Whether  his  assertions  are 
to  be  taken  as  facts,  I  will  not  say  ;  but,  in  as  far  as  they 
agree  with  other  known  facts,  we  may,  I  think,  accept  them. 

Thus,  we  have  fresh  information  that  Mr  Ball's  son  conveyed 
the  cradle  to  St  Briavels,  and  that  thence  it  was  taken  to  Bristol, 
having  been  shipped  on  board  one  of  the  Wye  barges  plying 
between  Brockweir  and  Bristol ;  that  the  relic  passed  out  of  the 
Ball  family  during  the  temporary  imbecility  of  the  owner ;  that 
it  was  sent  away,  on  loan,  for  a  drawing  to  be  made  of  it  for 
some  London  society,  and  was  never  returned,  although  efforts 
were  made  to  recover  it.  Beyond  this  is  the  oft-told  tale  of  the 
aged  vicar  of  Newland,  with  the  addition  that  the  cradle  came 
into  the  possession  of  the  Ball  family  about  the  close  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  and  had  descended  to  the  vicar  from  an  aunt 
of  his  great-grandmother  ;  also  that  an  inquiry  about  the  cradle 
was  made  in  a  local  paper  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  1850, 
and,  no  information  forthcoming,  "  C."  piiblished  his  recollections 
in  the  hope  of  obtaining  news  of  tlie  lost  chattel ;  lastly,  that  the 
genuineness  of  the  relic  was  never  doubted. 

In  1 86 1  Mr  and  Mrs  S.  C.  Hall  brought  out  their  "Book  of 
South  Wales,"  and  among  other  sketches  which  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  giving  them  for  that  work  were  the  drawings  of 
the  two  cradles  laying  claim  to  the  honour  of  being  the  cradle 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  THE  CRADLE  OF  HENRY  V.      243 

of  Henry  V.,  page  72.     The  one  was  an  original  sketch,  the 
other  was  copied  from  an  engraving. 
Their  notice  runs  thus  : 

"On  the  great  staircase  at  Troy  House  is  preserved  an  old  cradle, 
which  is  called  that  of  Henry  V.  It  is  certainly  not  as  old  as  the 
era  of  that  monarch ;  we  engrave  it,  together  with  some  pieces  of 
old  armour,  apparently  of  the  time  of  Elizabeth,  which  stand  beside 
it.  A  comparison  of  this  cradle  with  that  upon  the  tomb  of  the 
infant  child  of  James  I.,  in  Westminster  Abbey,  with  which  it  is 
almost  identical,  will  satisfy  the  sceptical  as  to  its  date.  It  is  covered 
with  faded  and  tattered  red  velvet,  and  ornamented  with  gilt  nails 
and  silken  fringe ;  from  its  general  character  we  may  believe  it  was 
constructed  about  1650.  The  late  Sir  Samuel  Meyrick  considered  it 
of  the  time  of  Charles  I.,  and  archaeologists  repudiate  the  notion  of 
its  being  that  of  the  fifth  Harry. 

"We  engrave  a  representation  of  another  old  cradle,  long  preserved 
in  Monmouth  Castle,  and  which  had  better  claims  to  be  considered 
as  that  in  which  the  baby-king  was  rocked.  It  has  all  the  character- 
istics of  cradles  of  his  era  as  represented  in  ancient  drawings,  and 
was  entirely  made  of  wood.  It  was  merely  a  wooden  oblong  box, 
which  swung  between  posts,  surmounted  by  -  carved  birds,  with 
foliated  ornaments  beneath.  It  has  been  figured  in  books  devoted  to 
antiquities,  and  recently  in  Murray's  '  Handbook  of  Mediaeval  Art,' 
where  it  is  stated  to  be  preserved  in  Monmouth  Castle;  it  has, 
however,  long  passed  from  thence  into  private  hands." 

Perhaps  this  is  the  point  where  I  should  introduce  the  little 
I  have  to  say  respecting  the  pseudo-cradle  of  Troy,  mentioned 
dubiously  also,  as  I  have  already  observed,  by  Fosbrooke  in 
1818.  The  first  public  notice  of  it  I  have  discovered  is  in  the 
European  Magazine  for  September  1808:  "  Half-a-mile  from 
Monmouth  is  situated  Troy  House,  the  seat  of  the  Duke  of 
Beaufort,  where  is  still  to  be  seen  the  cradle  in  which  Henry 
V.  was  rocked,  and  the  armour  that  he  wore  at  Agincourt." 
At  this  time  the  real  cradle  had  passed  out  of  sight  for  some 
years.  The  tradition  of  its  having  been  preserved  in  the 
vicinity  of  Monmouth  clung  to  the  neighbourhood,  and  doubt- 
less gave  birth  to  this  spurious  successor.  It  is  described 


244     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

by  Williams  in  his  "History  of  Monmouthshire"  in  1796  as 
"a  neglected  habitation,  the  family  of  Beaufort  residing  in 
Gloucestershire,"  and  it  probably  continued  to  be  occupied 
only  for  a  few  weeks  at  intervals.  Visitors  to  Monmouth 
would  naturally  inquire  about  the  ancient  cradle,  and  the 
one  on  the  staircase  at  Troy  being  of  undoubted  antiquity,  it 
would  readily  be  associated  with  the  original  article. 

Various  topographical  works  meanwhile  have  supported 
the  above  delusion.  Lewis's  "  Topographical  Dictionary  of 
England  "  describes  Monmouth  as  "  the  birthplace  of  Henry 
V.,  who  passed  his  infancy  here,  and  whose  cradle,  and  sword 
which  he  used  at  the  battle  of  Agincourt,  are  deposited  in 
Troy  House."  "  The  Land  we  Live  in,"  a  well-known  work 
by  Charles  Knight,  mentions  Troy  House,  "  an  ancient  resi- 
dence of  the  Worcester  family,  but  now  most  observable  as  a 
show-house.  It  contains  family  pictures  and  curiosities,  chief 
among  which  are  the  cradle  in  which  Henry  of  Monmouth 
was  rocked,  and  the  armour  he  fought  in  at  Agincourt."  A 
similar  statement  concerning  "the  cradle  of  the  precious 
infant"  finds  a  place  in  "The  History  of  Henry  V.,"  by 
George  Makepeace  Towle.  In  1857  the  Cambrian  Archaeo- 
logical Society  met  at  Monmouth,  and  in  the  paper  drawn 
up  by  the  late  Mr  Wakeman  of  the  Graig,  he  denounced  the 
Troy  cradle  unhesitatingly. 

To  return  to  the  notice  of  our  cradle  in  "  The  Book  of  South 
Wales."  Here  we  meet  with  a  statement  that  it  was  "long 
preserved  in  Monmouth  Castle."  I  do  not  know  upon  'what 
evidence  this  is  founded,  but  I  suspect  it  arose  from  an  error 
in  the  "  Archaeologia."  According  to  Mr  and  Mrs  S.  C.  Hall, 
this  error  has  again  been  repeated  in  Murray's  "  Handbook 
of  Mediaeval  Art,"  a  work  I  have  not  been  able  to  meet  with 
in  the  British  Museum  Library.  It  will  be  observed  that  the 
authors  of  "  The  Book  of  South  Wales "  could  obtain  no 
tidings  of  the  locality  of  the  relic,  and  even  questioned  its 
existence ;  and  I  may  add  that  Mr  Wakeman  informed  me, 
many  years  ago,  that  he  had  not  been  able  to  trace  it. 

In  1873  an  essay,  entitled  "Notes  on  Beds  and  Bedding," 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  THE  CRADLE  OF  HENRY  V.       245 

was  published  by  James  Blythe.  The  author  remarks  :  "  We 
may  here  mention  that  the  cradle  in  which  Henry  V.  was 
born  at  Monmouth  is  still  in  existence.  It  is  very  similar  to 
the  modern  cot,  and  consists  of  a  box  three  feet  two  by  one 
foot  eight  wide  at  the  head,  and  one  foot  five  and  three- 
quarters  at  the  foot,  its  depth  being  two  feet  five  inches.  This 
is  suspended  on  two  carved  uprights,  on  the  top  of  each  of 
which  stands  the  image  of  a  dove." 

This  notice  is  clearly  not  the  testimony  of  an  eye-witness. 
It  is  the  first  time  we  have  heard  it  mentioned  as  "  the  cradle 
in  which  Henry  V.  was  born!'"  There  is  a  considerable  mis- 
take also  as  to  its  measurement.  The  notices  in  Rudder's 
"  History  of  Gloucestershire  "  and  the  London  Magazine  being 
the  only  two  that  I  have  met  with  which  call  the  carved 
birds  "  doves,"  I  presume  one  of  them  is  the  source  from 
which  this  description  was  taken. 

I  have  produced  those  notices  of  the  cradle  I  could  find 
between  the  period  of  its  last  description  by  an  eye-witness 
(1804)  and  the  present  time,  with  one  exception;  and  that 
exception  contains  the  clue  to  its  locality.  I  did  not  know  of 
Shaw's  engraving  of  the  cradle,  and  the  notice  of  its  being  in 
1836  in  the  possession  of  Mr  Braikenridge,  of  Bristington, 
father  of  the  Rev.  George  Weare  Braikenridge,  till  after  I  had 
lighted  upon  it  in  the  splendid  museum  of  its  present  owner. 

Upon  making  inquiries  at  Hamgreen,  I  found  the  White- 
head  family  had  long  since  disappeared  from  the  neighbour- 
hood. The  oldest  inhabitants  of  the  village  stated  that  a  Mr 
Whitehead  had  lived  at  Hambrook  Court,  and  died  there 
about  seventy  years  ago.  My  inquiries,  however,  reached  a 
gentleman  of  the  name  of  fanner,  of  French  Hay,  who,  in  the 
most  friendly  manner,  informed  me  of  all  he  could  gather 
upon  the  subject.  From  Mr  H.  C.  Harford,  of  Stapleton 
House,  he  learned  that  the  cradle  was  successively  in  posses- 
sion of  a  Mr  Barnes  and  of  Mr  Braikenridge ;  and  thus  I 
reached  the  object  of  my  search. 

On  making  application  to  Mr  Braikenridge,  at  Clevedon,  he 
afforded  me  the  following  particulars  of  its  history:  It  was 


246      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

purchased  by  his  father,  G.  W.  Braikenridge,  Esq.  of  Broom- 
hill  House,  Bristington,  in  1834,  at  the  sale  of  the  effects  of 
Mr  Barnes,  of  Redland  Hall,  Bristol.  In  1835  a  careful, 
though  inexact,  drawing  of  it  was  made  by  Mr  Henry  Shaw, 
for  Shaw  and  Meyrick's  "  Specimens  of  Ancient  Furniture " 
(fol.  1836),  wherein  the  following  notice  from  the  pen  of 
Sir  Samuel  Meyrick  appears  : 

"  Plate  XLI.  The  cradle  of  Henry  the  Fifth,  in  the  possession  of 
G.  W.  Braikenridge,  Esq.,  Bristington,  near  Bristol.  The  beautiful 
foliage  which  fills  the  space  between  the  uprights  and  stays  of  the 
stand  of  this  cradle  were  never  before  engraved,  although  Bonnor 
in  his  '  Itinerary,'  the  London  Magazine  for  1774,  and  Bingley  in  his 
'  Tour  through  North  Wales,'  pretended  to  give  representations 
of  this  interesting  piece  of  antiquity.  Henry  the  Fifth  was  born  at 
Monmouth,  in  the  year  1388,  and  sent  to  Courtfield,  in  that  county, 
about  seven  miles  off,  to  be  nursed  for  the  benefit  of  his  health, 
under  the  superintendence  of  Lady  Montacute.  Here  it  was  pre- 
served for  many  years,  until  a  steward  of  the  property  contrived  to 
sell  it.  It  then  got  into  the  hands  of  the  Rev.  Mr  Ball,  rector  of 
Newland,  Gloucestershire,  and  next  those  of  Mr  Whitehead,  of 
Hambrook,  and  has  been  finally  purchased  by  Mr  Braikenridge.  Its 
dimensions  are  3  ft.  2  in.  long,  i  ft.  8  in.  wide  at  the  head,  i  ft. 
5f  in.  at  the  foot,  i  ft.  5  in.  deep.  The  uprights,  including  the 
birds,  are  2  ft.  10  in.  in  height.  The  foliage,  before  mentioned, 
corroborates  the  date." 

In  this  notice,  we  may  remark  the  authority  of  Sir  Samuel 
Meyrick,  as  a  distinguished  antiquary,  with  respect  to  the  age  of 
the  carving,  and  the  importance  of  the  relic.  The  cradle  is 
now,  for  the  first  time,  stated  to  have  been  preserved  many 
years  at  Courtfield;  and  the  steward  of  the  property  is  said  to 
have  sold  it.  With  the  exception  of  the  owner's  name, 
there  is  not  much  in  the  notice  but  what  may  be  traced, 
errors  and  all,  to  Bonnor's  "  Itinerary."  With  respect  to 
Shaw's  delineation,  which  accompanies  the  foregoing  notice, 
I  must  observe,  although  by  far  the  best  representation  we 
have,  it  is  incorrect  He  has  ignored  the  carved  corners,  etc., 
which,  according  to  Mr  Braikenridge,  were  inserted  prior  to 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  THE  CRADLE  OF  HENRY  V.      247 

1834.  He  has  also  left  out  the  holes  at  the  base,  and  has 
inserted  an  imaginary  clump  of  iron,  apparently  just  where 
the  cord  goes. 

This  new  statement  respecting  Courtfield  was,  I  have  no 
doubt,  communicated  to  Sir  Samuel  Meyrick  by  the  late  Mr 
Vaughan ;  for  I  am  informed  by  Colonel  Vaughan,  the  present 
owner  of  the  picturesque  and  historically  interesting  domain 
of  Courtfield,  that  there  is  no  documentary  evidence  of  the 
cradle  ever  having  been  in  his  family's  possession,  but  that  he 
always  understood  from  his  father  the  cradle  was  formerly  in 
possession  of  the  Vaughans  at  Courtfield,  till  some  time  after 
1745,  when,  owing  to  their  being  mixed  up  in  the  rebellion  of 
the  Pretender,  they  were  compelled  to  leave  England  for  a 
while ;  and  during  their  absence,  the  cradle  was  disposed  of 
by  their  steward,  and  so  came  into  the  possession  of  Mr  Ball, 
of  Newland.  That  on  the  death  of  Mr  Ball,  his  curiosities 
were  sold  by  auction,  and  that  the  late  Sir  Samuel  Mey- 
rick, of  Goodrich  Court,  told  him  that  he  would  have  pur- 
chased it  and  reinstated  it  at  Courtfield  had  he  not  missed 
the  sale. 

I  have  great  reluctance  in  attacking  family  tradition. 
Tradition  is  the  poetry  of  history ;  and,  if  genuine,  is  full  of 
instructive  truth.  Unless,  therefore,  I  found  distinct  argu- 
ments to  the  contrary,  I  should  be  inclined  to  admit  the  above 
as  probable.  But  I  am  compelled  to  say  I  find  much  in  this 
account  that  is  untenable ;  and  I  can  only  admit  this  legend 
as  carrying  the  weight  of  the  undoubted  testimony  of  the 
present  representative  of  the  ancient  house  of  Courtfield. 

In  1794,  when  the  Rev.  Peregrine -JBall  died,  Sir  Samuel 
Meyrick  was  only  eleven  years  of  age,  he  having  been  born 
26th  August  1783.  I  suspect  the  sale  of  which  he  spoke 
must  have  been  that  of  Mr  Barnes  of  Redland  Hall  in 
1834.  We  have  seen  that  Heath  describes  the  cradle  as  being 
held  in  no  estimation  except  as  a  family  relic,  consigned 
to  a  garret ;  and,  whether  he  saw  it  before  or  after  the 
death  of  the  vicar,  his  account  overthrows  any  theory  of 
Mr  Ball's  having  been  a  collector  of  curiosities,  or  that  the 


248      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

relic  was  sold  at  his  decease.  The  story  of  the  steward's 
disposing  of  the  cradle  is  one  difficult  to  reconcile  with 
the  fact  that  the  relic  in  question  is  a  very  cumbersome 
article,  of  no  intrinsic  value,  nor  in  any  way  ornamental.  Its 
only  worth  consists  in  the  associations  connected  with  it — 
associations  which  would  render  it  of  more  value  at  Court- 
field  or  at  Monmouth  than  anywhere  else.  Supposing,  how- 
ever, some  curiosity-monger  did  tempt  the  steward  with 
£$  for  the  chattel,  we  must  remember  it  remained  within 
a  few  miles  of  Courtfield  ;  and  when  the  family  returned  to 
their  seat  they  would  at  once  have  been  made  acquainted 
with  the  abstraction  of  an  heirloom,  whose  history  was  closely 
connected  with  the  traditional  glory  of  their  home,  and  they 
would  have  been  in  a  position  immediately  to  reclaim  it  from 
their  neighbour,  the  clergyman  of  Newland.  Moreover,  in 
about  five  or  six  and  twenty  years  after  the  alleged  abstrac- 
tion, we  find  a  published  description  of  the  cradle,  as  an  ancient 
heirloom  in  the  family  of  the  Rev.  Peregrine  Ball,  which  de- 
scription is  repeated  in  county  histories,  and  no  contradic- 
tion ever  advanced  against  the  claim,  by  the  Vaughan  family, 
who,  we  may  naturally  conclude,  would  never  have  allowed 
so  flagrant  an  assumption,  had  they  been  in  a  position  to  con- 
tradict it. 

Among  the  family  papers  in  the  possession  of  Colonel 
Vaughan,  are  some  manuscript  poems  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, elaborately  describing  the  beauties  and  resources  of 
Courtfield,  with  its  statues,  hanging  gardens,  etc.,  but  no 
mention  is  made  of  the  cradle  of  Henry  of  Monmouth.  In 
the  mansion,  a  room — a  remnant  of  the  old  house — is  still 
pointed  out  as  the  nursery  of  the  young  lord  Harry.  The 
name  of  this  seat,  according  to  Coxe,  was  originally  Gray- 
field,  and  it  was  changed,  from  the  circumstance  of  Henry  V. 
having  been  nursed  there.  The  Rev.  J.  Endell  Tyler,  in  his 
"  Memoir  of  Henry  V.,"  speaks  disparagingly  of  "  the  vanity 
of  tradition  at  Courtfield,  and  the  absence  of  any  stories  on 
the  other  side  of  Monmouth,"  as  continuing  a  belief  in  the 
tale  of  this  being  the  hero's  nursing-place ;  but  I  think  the 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  THE  CRADLE  OF  HENRY  V.      249 

historian  steps  beyond  his  province,  when  he  allows  personal 
feeling  to  discountenance  tradition.  There  is  a  tradition  that 
the  horseman,  who  was  hurrying  through  the  ravine,  near 
Goodrich,  with  the  news  of  the  birth  of  Henry  of  Monmouth, 
was  thrown,  from  the  stumbling  of  his  steed,  in  the  steep  lane 
leading  towards  the  castle,  and  was  killed  on  the  spot.  There 
is  another  tradition,  that  the  ferryman  at  Goodrich  was  the 
first  who  informed  the  Earl  of  Derby  of  the  birth  of  his 
son  and  heir,  and  that  he  received  the  boon  of  the  ferry 
in  return.  The  old  belief  in  Henry's  having  been  sent  to 
Courtfield  to  be  nursed,  may  have  many  arguments  pro- 
duced in  its  favour;  and  it  is  certainly  not  to  be  upset 
by  the  sneer  of  unsupported  opinion.  I  am  not  aware 
that  there  is  even  any  direct  evidence  of  Henry  having 
been  born  in  Monmouth  Castle,  but  it  would  be  difficult  to 
find  any  one  who  would  set  it  down  to  the  vanity  of  tradition 
in  the  county,  and  the  absence  of  claim  elsewhere.  In  this 
case  it  is  of  course  an  admitted  fact ;  and  in  the  minor  matter 
of  his  nursing-place,  it  may  be  accepted  as  an  uncontradicted 
tradition,  until  reason  can  be  produced  that  it  should  be  dis- 
carded. 

There  is  another  point  in  connection  with  Courtfield  which 
has  been  disputed.  Henry  is  stated,  in  many  topographical 
works,  to  have  been  nursed  by  the  Countess  of  Salisbury ; 
and  her  tomb  is  still  pointed  out  in  the  picturesque  church 
of  Welsh  Bicknor,  which  stands  on  the  banks  of  the  Wye, 
below  the  mansion.  Coxe  gives  an  engraving  of  this  effigy, 
which,  he  states,  must  have  been  that  of  Margaret,  Lady 
Montacute,  daughter  of  Thomas,  Lord  Monthermer,  and  lady 
of  the  manor  at  that  date.  Williams,  in  his  "  History  of 
Monmouthshire,"  makes  the  blunder  (since  copied  by  others) 
of  calling  this  lady  "  Countess  of  Sunderland."  She  was 
daughter-in-law  of  the  first  Earl  of  Salisbury,  sister-in-law  of 
the  second,  and  mother  of  the  third.  She  died  in  1 395  ;  and 
the  monument,  with  its  angel  supporters,  closely  resembles 
the  effigies  of  this  period  in  Gough's  "  Sepulchral  Monuments." 
It  was  thus  a  not  unnatural  mistake  among  the  country 


250      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

people  of  the  district,  to  call  the  figure  the  Countess  of  Salis- 
bury instead  of  Lady  Montacute.  Being  a  family  connection 
of  the  young  Earl  of  Derby  (her  grandmother  was  a  daughter 
of  Edward  I.),  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  child  might  have 
been  placed  under  her  care  in  the  safe  and  secluded  peninsula 
of  Courtfield. 

That  we  find  her  son,  John,  Earl  of  Salisbury,  within  twelve 
years,  conspiring  against  Henry  IV.,  does  not  in  any  way 
invalidate  the  tradition  of  Lady  Montacute's  taking  charge 
of  her  kinsman's  son  and  heir.  Henry,  by  his  usurpation  of 
the  throne,  must  have  made  enemies  as  well  as  friends  ;  and 
the  Earls  of  Salisbury  had  been  old  adherents  of  Richard 
II.  The  second  earl,  uncle  of  the  preceding,  it  was,  who 
met  Anne  of  Bohemia  on  her  way  to  England  to  be  married  ; 
the  Earl  of  Salisbury,  with  500  spears  and  as  many  archers, 
received  the  bride-elect  at  Gravelines,  and  escorted  her  to 
Calais  ;  and  he  himself  was  the  companion  of  Richard  in  his 
downfall,  mounted  on  "  a  sorry  nag,"  as  narrated  by  the  his- 
torians Stowe  and  Pennant,  when  "  the  Duke  of  Lancaster 
brought  them  from  Flint  to  Chester,"  and  thence,  after 
a  night's  rest,  on  to  London.  Lady  Montacute's  son  was 
certainly  no  friend  to  Henry  IV.,  whatever  his  mother  may 
have  been  to  the  Earl  of  Derby.  He  it  was  who  "  purposed 
to  kil  hym  on  the  xij  night,"  and,  when  encountered  with 
"  hard  by  licestre,"  was  "  overcum  and  by  &  by  heddid  " 
(Leland's  "  Collectanea,"  vol.  i.,  p.  485). 

The  autumn  of  the  year  of  Henry's  birth  was  a  period  of 
disquiet.  The  friends  and  evil  counsellors  of  Richard  II., 
Robert  Vere,  Duke  of  Ireland,  Michael  de  la  Pole,  Earl  of 
Suffolk,  and  others,  were  accused  of  misgoverning  the  realm, 
and  were  defeated  wherever  they  took  the  field  against  the 
opposing  party,  of  whom  the  infant  Henry's  father,  though 
quite  a  young  man,  was  a  prominent  member.  We  read,  the 
Earl  of  Suffolk  escaped  to  France,  and  entered  Calais  dis- 
guised as  a  poulterer,  selling  capons.  The  Duke  of  Ireland, 
defeated  by  the  Earl  of  Derby  at  Radcot  Bridge,  in  Berk- 
shire, December  20,  1387-88  ("Eulogium;"  Cotton  MSS. ; 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  THE  CRADLE  OF  HENRY  V.      251 

Galba,  e.  vii.),  had  to  rid  himself  of  his  gauntlets  and  sword  to 
swim  the  river  Thames.  "  Richard  the  Redeles,"  as  the  king 
was  called  in  a  contemporary  poem,  was  already  beginning 
to  feel  the  strength  of  that  party  which  eleven  years  later 
hurled  him  from  his  throne ;  and  the  struggle  of  this  crisis 
must  have  made  it  an  anxious  and  exciting  time  for  all 
engaged  in  it,  and  this  may  perhaps  have  been  one  reason 
for  the  baby  lord  to  be  sent  to  the  quiet  and  seclusion  of 
Courtfield. 

That  Lady  Montacute  herself  acted  as  nurse  to  the  infant, 
is  of  course  a  ridiculous  supposition ;  in  fact,  it  would  appear, 
the  nurse's  name  was  Johanna  Waring,  who,  after  Henry  V. 
came  to  the  throne,  received  an  annuity  of  £20,  "  in  consider- 
ation of  good  service  done  in  former  days  "  ("  Memoirs  of 
Henry  of  Monmouth;'  by  the  Rev.  J.  Endell  Tyler).  Had 
the  child's  father  then  held  the  throne  it  might  have  been 
different.  The  Countess  of  Mar  was  appointed  nurse  to 
James  VI.  of  Scotland,  whose  cradle,  as  I  have  already  had 
occasion  to  remark,  is  still  preserved  at  the  family  seat,  Alloa 
Park.  In  the  wardrobe  accounts  of  Henry,  Earl  of  Derby, 
from  1387-88  to  1388-89,  the  first  year  of  his  married  life  (for 
although  he  was  espoused  to  Mary  Bohun  at  fifteen  years  of 
age,  when  she  was  but  twelve,  the  young  couple  did  not  pro- 
bably live  together  till  1387,  no  prior  household  accounts 
being  in  existence),  it  would  appear  the  earl  and  countess 
then  resided  at  Monmouth  Castle,  but  only  for  a  while. 
Among  the  entries  is  a  charge  "  for  a  long  gown  for  the 
young  Lord  Henry."  The  second  child,  Thomas,  was  born, 
and  £2  paid  to  the  midwife  in  London,  before  October  1388 
(according  to  Tyler),  which  I  suppose  means  1388-89.  The 
entn'es  in  the  various  chronicles  and  MSS.  of  this  period  are 
rather  confusing,  owing  to  the  different  modes  of  reckoning  ; 
1388  is  the  date  accepted  as  the  year  of  the  birth  of  Henry  of 
Monmouth,  although  the  inscription  on  the  statue  in  front  of 
Monmouth  Town  Hall  gives  it  1387  ;  and,  according  to  Coxe, 
the  historians  Holinshed,  Rapin,  and  Stowe,  each  give  a  dif- 
ferent year  for  the  event.  Various  items  of  clothing  for  the 


252      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

children  are  entered  in  the  before-mentioned  accounts ;  and, 
"  at  Kenilworth,"  there  is  an  entry  of  "  five  yards  of  cloth  for 
the  bed  of  the  nurse  of  Lord  Thomas,  and  an  ell  of  canvas 
for  his  cradle."  It  would  therefore  seem  that  the  earl  and 
countess  were  moving  about  pretty  much  as  earls  and  count- 
esses do  in  these  more  peaceful  days.  But  while  from  their 
household  records  we  learn  that  the  second  child,  with  its 
nurse  and  cradle,  were  with  them,  there  is  no  entry  to  show 
whether  the  elder  son,  together  with  his  nurse  and  cradle, 
were  with  the  family,  or  at  Courtfield,  or  elsewhere.  We  are 
therefore  thrown  back  on  the  tradition  ;  and  must  leave  the 
matter  there,  while  we  proceed  to  gather  certain  remaining 
notices  of  the  cradle  itself,  extending  back  from  the  period 
when  it  was  in  the  possession  of  Mr  Whitehead  of  Hambrook, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century. 

It  was  not  only  mentioned,  as  we  have  seen,  by  Heath  in 
his  "  History  of  Monmouth ; "  it  was  likewise  noticed  by 
Archdeacon  Coxe  in  his  "  History  of  Monmouthshire,"  pub- 
lished in  the  year  1800,  the  most  important  county  topo- 
graphical work  we  have.  Referring  to  Henry  V.  having 
been  nursed  at  Courtfield,  he  continues  :  "  His  old  cradle  was 
preserved  at  the  house  of  the  Rev.  Mr  Ball,  rector  of  Newland, 
in  the  vicinity,  which  descended  to  him  from  his  ancestor,  one 
of  the  rockers  ;  it  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr  Whitehead 
of  French  Hay,  near  Bristol,  and,  from  the  engraving  given  by 
Bonnor,  seems  to  be  a  curious  piece  of  antiquity."  But  this 
account  is  simply  copied  from  Bonnor,  who  the  preceding 
year  had  published  his  "  Itinerary."  One  would  have  thought 
the  archdeacon,  however,  might  have  known  that  Newland 
was  a  vicarage  and  not  a  rectory,  and  might  have  corrected 
Bonnor  on  that  point. 

"  The  Copper  Plate  Perspective  Itinerary,  or  Pocket  Port- 
folio," by  J.  Bonnor,  engraver,  appeared  in  1799.  In  No.  iv., 
p.  34,  we  find  the  following  passage  : 

"  Proceeding  along  the  path  you  have  in  view  the  old  mansion, 
venerable  woods,  and  hanging  gardens  of  Court  Field,  the  residence 
of  the  late  William  Vaughan,  Esq.  For  the  benefit  of  this  salubrious 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  THE  CRADLE  OF  HENRY  V.      253 

air,  Henry,  Prince  of  Wales,  born  1388,  at  Monmouth  Castle,  and 
therefore  called  Harry  of  Monmouth,  was  nursed  here.  Fig.  3, 
pi.  xi.,  represents  the  curious  cradle  in  which  he  was  rocked.  It 
became  an  honorary  perquisite  to  one  of  the  rockers,  who  was  an 
ancestor  of  the  Rev.  Mr  Ball,  rector  of  Newland,  which  is  in  this 
vicinity.  And  in  1773,  when  this  drawing  was  made,  by  his  per- 
mission, it  was  in  his  possession,  who  related  that  it  had  continued 
in  his  family  from  that  time.  It  is  given  as  a  real  curiosity  of  the 
fourteenth  century.  Since  the  death  of  that  gentleman,  his  son  has 

presented  it  to Whitehead,  Esq.  of  Hambrook,  French  Hay, 

near  Bristol. 

"  A  drawing  of  it  was  presented  to  the  publisher  of  the  London 
Magazine  the  same  year,  but  the  inaccuracy  of  the  engraving  from 
which  it  appears  in  that  work  for  March  1774,  and  a  very  material  error 
in  the  history  which  accompanies  it,  renders  its  introduction  here  neces- 
sary to  their  correction,  as  will  be  obvious  from  a  comparison  with 
the  representation  here  offered.  The  misstatement  of  its  history 
was  occasioned  in  the  following  manner :  To  the  drawing  was 
annexed  a  written  description  of  the  cradle  only.  When  it  was  put 
into  the  editor's  hand,  he  was  informed  that  it  was  the  cradle  of 
Prince  Henry  of  Monmouth,  afterwards  King  Henry  V.,  who  was 
born  at  Monmouth  Castle.  In  preparing  the  article  for  the  press, 
some  time  after,  he  erred  in  his  recollection  of  the  account  that 
was  given  him,  and,  not  aware  of  the  mistake,  he  stated  it  to  have 
belonged  to  the  first  Prince  of  Wales,  who  was  born  at  Carnarvon 
Castle.  The  error  was  pointed  out  by  Mr  Bonnor,  but  was  never 
corrected.  The  editor  was  unwilling,  perhaps,  to  proclaim  his  own 
mistake,  at  so  material  an  injury  to  the  story  it  would  have  sustained 
by  losing  an  hundred  years  of  its  antiquity ;  yet  it  is  sufficiently 
respectable  on  that  account,  it  being  410  years  since  it  was  really  in 
use. 

"  The  body  of  the  cradle,  which  is  wider  at  one  end  than  the 
other,  is  suspended  by  staples  and  a  ring  at  each  end,  from  two 
pillars  joined  by  framework;  a  carved  bird  perches  at  the  top  of 
each,  with  foliage  at  the  feet ;  it  has  six  long  holes  at  the  upper 
edge  for  the  rockers  (three  on  each  side),  and  twelve  round  holes  at 
the  bottom  for  cordage  to  pass  through,  which  formerly  was  for  sup- 
porting a  rush  mattress,  upon  which  beds  of  the  best  fashion  in  this 
country  were  used  to  be  laid.  A  full  inclination  is  shown  to  add  all 


254      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

the  ornament  the  workman's  planes  would  afford  upon  the  sides, 
which  are  covered  with  a  variety  of  irregular  mouldings  struck  from 
end  to  end.  Although  it  is  remarkable  that  this  Cambrian  artist 
seems  to  have  been  unacquainted  either  with  dovetailing  or  mitring, 
the  ends  being  plain  boards  to  keep  out  and  fasten  the  sides  to, 
which  is  done  simply  with  nails,  yet  the  carving  of  the  birds  and 
foliage  to  the  pillars,  between  which  it  swings,  are  specimens  of 
better  execution.  Old  wainscoting  of  excellent  impannelling,  carved 
in  this  style,  has  frequently  no  better  joinings,  whence  it  appears  that 
those  who  executed  the  nicer  parts  were  not  employed  to  put  the 
work  together.  Its  dimensions  are  3  feet  2  inches  long ;  i  foot 
8  inches  wide  at  the  head ;  i  foot  5f  inches  at  the  foot ;  and  i  foot 
5  inches  deep.  It  is  made  of  oak,  inch-and-half  thick,  and  the  pillars 
are  2  feet  10  inches  from  the  ground  to  the  top  of  the  birds." 

Beneath  the  engraving  is  the  inscription : 

"  The  cradle  of  Prince  Henry,  afterwards  King  Henry  V.,  born  at 
Monmouth  Castle,  1388.  Drawn  from  the  original,  1773,  by  per- 
mission of  the  Rer.  Mr  Ball,  rector  of  Newland,  Gloucestershire,  by 
J.  Bonnor." 

From  the  above  we  learn  that  Bonnor  made  the  drawing  in 
1773,  from  which  the  engraving  in  the  London  Magazine 
was  copied ;  and  he  seems  also  to  have  supplied  the  descrip- 
tion, since  he  states  that  he  at  once  informed  the  negligent 
editor  of  the  mistake  he  had  fallen  into  in  calling  it  the  cradle 
of  Edward  II.  It  may  be  remarked  that  Mr  Bonnor 
received  the  account  from  the  Rev.  Peregrine  Ball  himself. 
He  speaks  of  the  "  hanging  gardens  "  of  Courtfield,  which  we 
have  heard  were  features  of  the  spot  in  the  preceding  century. 
His  blunders  in  calling  the  infant  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  the 
vicar  the  rector,  demand  correction.  There  is  also  a  mistake 
of  twenty-five  years  in  his  chronology.  Under  a  false  impres- 
sion of  the  infant's  regal  state  he  imagines  more  than  one 
person  would  be  appointed  to  rock  the  child,  and  fancies  the 
band-holes  are  the  places  for  their  hands. 

This  description,  however,  is  the  fullest  we  have  met  with, 
and  had  the  cradle  never  been  engraved,  it  would  have 
enabled  one  to  recognise  the  relic  at  a  glance.  Bonnor's 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  THE  CRADLE  OF  HENRY  V.      255 

engraving  will  be  seen  to  differ  slightly  from  the  one  in  the 
London  Magazine ;  but,  even  had  he  not  stated  that  it  was  from 
the  same  drawing,  the  fact  would  have  been  self-evident.  Mr 
Whitehead  is  stated  to  have  been  presented  with  the  cradle  by 
the  son  of  the  Rev.  Peregrine  Ball.  From  the  before-quoted 
letter  of  "  C.,"  in  the  Monmouthshire  Gazette,  it  would  be  in- 
ferred that  it  came  into  his  hands  by  chance,  after  being  sent 
to  London  to  be  engraved.  I  am  inclined  to  think  the  former 
is  more  probable.  I  can  find  no  engraving  made  between 
1794  and  1799,  at  which  last  date  we  hear  it  was  in  Mr 
Whitehead's  possession.  Nor  have  I  any  evidence  of  Mr 
Ball's  derangement  of  mind.  The  Rev.  William  Taprell  Allen, 
vicar  of  St  Briavels,  informs  me  that  a  Mr  Thomas  Ball  lived 
in  the  vicarage  house  about  eighty  years  ago.  He  was  a 
bachelor,  and  a  particular  friend  of  the  old  Squire  Edwin  of 
Clearwell,  which  is  close  to  Newland,  and  there  is  every  proba- 
bility that  he  was  the  son  of  the  old  vicar.  He  is  said  to 
have  been  eccentric,  and  to  have  had  a  great  fondness  for  birds. 
A  reason  for  Mr  Ball's  parting  with  this  heirloom  may  appear 
in  his  being  unmarried,  while  Mr  Whitehead  may  possibly  have 
been  a  family  connection,  and,  any  way,  is  described  as  one 
who  would  appreciate  and  take  care  of  such  a  curiosity.  An 
old  seal,  bearing  the  Ball  crest — a  demi-lion  rampant,  carrying 
a  ball  between  its  paws — was  found  near  the  vicarage  some 
time  since,  and  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr  Allen.  The 
name  frequently  occurs  in  the  church  registers  of  St  Briavels 
and  Hewelsfield  from  1661,  but  no  entry  of  a  Peregrine  Ball 
can  be  found.  There  is  a  probability  of  the  old  vicar's  family 
having  belonged  to  this  neighbourhood,  but  I  have  no  evid- 
ence of  ihe  fact,  much  as  it  would  strengthen  his  assertion 
respecting  the  history  of  the  cradle. 

In  the  "  Archaeologia "  (vol.  vi.,  p.  363),  published  in  1782, 
is  the  following  short  sentence,  which  is  of  interest  to  us,  and 
at  the  same  time  illustrates  my  observations  : 

"  The  birth  of  Henry  the  Fifth  in  the  Castle  of  Monmouth,  when 
his  father  was  Duke  of  Hereford,  and  resided  there,  at  which  place 
his  cradle  is  still  preserved." 


256      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

In  these  few  words,  extracted  from  a  pseudo-scientific 
journal,  there  are  no  less  than  two  glaring  blunders.  In  the 
first  place,  the  Earl  of  Derby  was  not  created  Duke  of  Here- 
ford before  the  twenty-first  year  of  the  reign  of  Richard  II., 
when  Harry  of  Monmouth  was  in  his  tenth  year  (Leland's 
"  Collectanea,"  vol.  i.,  p.  483).  In  the  second,  the  cradle  was 
not  in  Monmouth,  but,  as  we  have  seen,  in  the  possession  of 
the  Rev.  Peregrine  Ball,  at  Newland. 

In  Rudder's  "  History  of  Gloucestershire,"  published  in 
1779,  the  following  account  of  the  cradle  occurs,  under 
"  Newland  : " 

"  The  Reverend  Mr  Ball,  the  present  incumbent  of  Newland,  is 
possessed  of  a  curiosity  that  deserves  to  be  mentioned.  It  is  the 
cradle  of  King  Henry  V.,  who  was  born  at  Monmouth.  The  whole 
is  made  of  oak,  and  the  part  where  the  infant  lay  is  an  oblong  chest, 
open  at  top,  and  with  an  iron  ring  at  the  head,  and  another  at  the 
feet,  by  which  it  hangs  upon  hooks,  fixed  in  two  upright  pieces, 
strongly  mortised  in  a  frame  which  lies  upon  the  floor.  Thus  sus- 
pended, the  cradle  is  easily  put  in  motion.  Each  of  the  upright 
pieces  is  ornamented  at  the  top  with  the  figure  of  a  dove,  gilt  and 
tolerably  executed." 

In  this  description  the  gilding  of  tlie  birds  is  mentioned, 
from  which  we  may  infer  it  was  then  in  better  condition ;  the 
birds  are  also  specified  as  doves.  It  appears  to  have  been 
written  by  an  eye-witness.  The  cradle  is  described  as  an 
oblong  chest,  open  at  the  top.  Perhaps  I  should  add  there  is 
also  no  bottom,  the  mattress  having  been  supported  by  the 
cords,  while  its  shape  very  much  resembles  the  Saxon  cryb 
or  cota,  as  figured  in  ancient  MSS. 

In  1775  another  original  sketch  of  the  cradle  was  made, 
which  appeared  in  the  "  Antiquarian  Repertory  "  (4  vols.  4to), 
that  year  edited  by  Grose.  It  is  described  as  "the  cradle 
in  which  Henry  V.  was  nursed  at  Monmouth  Castle.  En- 
graved from  an  original  drawing  by  F.  Blyth,  September  I, 
1775."  This  sketch  is  taken  from  the  opposite  side  to  my 
own  (as  also  is  Bonnor's),  the  foot  of  the  cradle  being  towards 
the  spectator,  and  the  spandrels  carved  alike.  It  is  incorrect 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  THE  CRADLE  OF  HENRY  V.      257 

in  its  proportions,  and  does  not  give  the  lacing-holes  for  either 
the  cord  or  band.  In  the  description  we  find  it  stated  to  have 
been  in  Monmouth  Castle.  It  was  probably  from  this  the 
writer  of  the  notice  in  the  "  Archaeologia  "  made  his  misstate- 
ment  respecting  the  locality  of  the  relic. 

Two  years  before,  in  1773,  the  original  sketch  of  which  we 
have  read  in  Bonnor's  "  Itinerary,"  had  been  taken  by  Bonnor, 
with  Mr  Ball's  permission,  and  sent  to  the  editor  of  the  Lon- 
don Magazine.  The  article  appeared  in  the  number  for  March 
1774: 

"  Having  been  favoured  with  a  curious  drawing  of  the  cradle  in 
which  Edward  the  Second  was  rocked  at  Carnarvon  Castle,  we  have 
taken  the  earliest  opportunity  to  present  it  to  our  readers. 

"  The  plate  is  engraved  from  an  accurate  drawing  of  the  cradle  in 
which  this  unfortunate  prince  was  rocked,  which  piece  of  antiquity  is 
in  the  possession  of  the  Rev.  Mr  Ball,  of  Newland,  in  Gloucester- 
shire. It  descended  to  him  from  his  ancestors,  to  whom  it  became 
an  honorary  perquisite.  This  singular  piece  is  made  of  heart  of  oak, 
whose  simplicity  of  construction  and  rudeness  of  workmanship  are 
visible  demonstrations  of  the  small  progress  that  elegancy  had  made 
in  ornamental  decorations.  On  the  top  of  the  uprights  are  two 
doves ;  the  cradle  itself  is  pendent  on  two  staples,  driven  into  the 
uprights,  linked  by  two  rings  to  two  staples  fastened  to  the  cradle, 
and  by  them  it  swings.  The  sides  and  ends  of  the  cradle  are  orna- 
mented with  a  great  variety  of  mouldings,  whose  junctions  at  the 
corners  are  not  mitred,  but  cut  off  square  without  any  degree  of 
neatness,  and  the  sides  and  ends  fastened  together  by  rough  nails. 
On  each  side  are  three  holes  for  the  rockers.  To  secure  the  up- 
rights from  falling,  there  is  a  strong  rail  near  the  bottom,  and  the 
whole  b  rendered  steady  by  cross  pieces  for  feet,  on  which  it  stands. 
Its  dimensions  are  :  3  feet  2  inches  long ;  i  foot  8  inches  wide  at  the 
head ;  and  i  foot  5  inches  wide  at  the  foot ;  i  foot  5  inches  deep ; 
and  from  the  bottom  of  the  pillar  to  the  top  of  the  birds  is  2  feet  10 
inches." 

The  period  of  history  involved  in  the  tradition  of  this  relic 
is  replete  with  interest.  During  the  short  lifetime  of  the  hero 
who  is  said  to  have  been  rocked  in  it,  not  only  a  blaze  of 


258      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

military  glory  lit  up  the  land,  but  the  dawn  of  the  Reforma- 
tion was  slowly  brightening.  Wycliffe  had  just  passed  away, 
and  under  his  influence  the  Lollards  were  beginning  to  bear 
testimony  to  a  faith  that  outshone  the  fires  of  martyrdom.  The 
dark  ages  of  serfdom  were  doomed,  and  although  the  grand 
tyranny  of  the  feudal  system  still  kept  all  classes  in  a  condi- 
tion of  bondage,  it  produced  a  ferment  that  was  the  cause  of 
those  chivalric  pictures  of  alternate  violence  and  splendour 
which  distinguish  this  epoch.  The  light  of  intelligence  was 
growing  from  day  to  day,  and  amidst  clouds  of  ignorance 
there  glimmered  a  foreshadowing  of  modern  liberty. 

Llewellyn,  the  last  Welsh  prince,  had  closed  the  scene  of 
Cambrian  history  in  bloodshed  and  defeat  a  century  before ; 
but  the  conquest  of  Wales  remained  unsettled  till  the  seal 
was  put  upon  it  by  Henry  of  Monmouth,  when  not  even  the 
magical  glamour  of  Owen  Glendower's  fame  could  avail 
against  the  march  of  events  which  was  to  establish  a  united 
kingdom.  James  I.  of  Scotland  was  a  captive  in  England.  It 
was  the  period  of  the  rebuilding  of  Westminster  Hall,  and 
of  many  of  our  historic  castles  and  abbeys.  The  story  of 
Wat  Tyler's  rebellion  must  have  been  the  common  recollec- 
tion of  London  citizens,  while  every  town  and  hamlet  had 
its  tale  of  warfare.  The  very  language  of  the  people  was 
undergoing  rapid  development.  "  The  Vision  of  William 
concerning  Piers  the  Plowman  "  was  introducing  new  ideas  as 
well  as  a  new  tongue,  while  the  muse  of  Chaucer  opened  the 
splendid  roll  of  English  literature,  a  literature  that  is  now 
the  treasured  heritage  of  continents,  and  seems  destined  to 
be  the  foremost  of  "  the  great  globe  itself." 

How  strangely,  yet  how  forcibly,  is  Richard  described  on 
his  throne  in  his  chamber,  "  wheiynne  he  was  wont  to  sitte, 
fro  after  mete  vnto  evensong  tyme,  spekynge  to  no  man,  but 
ouerloking  alle  menne ;  and  yf  he  loked  on  eny  man,  what 
astat  or  degre  that  evir  he  were  of,  he  most  knele."  Within 
a  few  months  of  this  pride  of  place  the  sower  of  the  wind 
reaped  the  whirlwind,  and,  in  his  despair,  cursed  "  the  un- 
trouthe  of  England ;  and  said,  Alias !  what  trust  is  in  this 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  THE  CRADLE  OF  HENRY  V.      259 

fals  worlde  ! "  At  the  formal  abdication  of  Richard  at  West- 
minster, we  read,  Henry  the  Usurper  "  arcs  and  blissid  hym," 
and  claimed  the  crown,  with  the  full  approbation  of  those 
present ;  whereupon  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  "  made  a 
colacion  "  on  the  text  "  Vir  fortis  dominabitur  populo,"  which, 
I  presume,  was  a  defence  of  the  old  theory  that  might  is  right 
There  is  something  deplorable  in  the  tragic  end  of  King 
Richard.  One  can  well  imagine  when  he  heard  in  his  cap- 
tivity of  the  execution  of  the  Earl  of  Salisbury,  the  son  of 
Lady  Montacute  of  Welsh  Bicknor,  "  he  was  utterlie  in  de- 
spair," and  so  "  for  sorou  and  hunger  he  deid  in  the  castle 
of  Pountfret." 

The  perfect  character  of  Henry  of  Monmouth  warded  off 
all  opposition.  He  was  the  admiration  of  his  age :  "  truli  a 
gracious  man,"  as  Lydgate  calls  him.  He  looked  "  very  much 
like  an  angel,"  says  Elmham,  in  describing  his  coronation ; 
while,  according  to  Monstrelet  he  was  almost  apotheosised  by 
his  people  after  his  demise,  "  comme  silz  furent  ascertenes  qu'il 
fut  ou  soit  sainct,  en  paradis."  Prophetic  as  genius  often  is,  it 
is  narrated  that  he  turned  sorrowfully  to  his  chamberlain,  when 
told  of  his  son's  birth  at  Windsor  Castle,  and  said  :  "  My  lord, 
•Henry  of' Monmouth  shall  reign  but  a  short  time  and  shall 
acquire  much,  but  Henry  of  Windsor  shall  reign  long  and  lose 
all."  He  expired,  we  are  told,  while  the  priests  were  chanting, 
at  his  request,  certain  Psalms  of  David  ;  and  so,  soothed  by 
the  deep  spiritual  experience  of  the  sweet  singer  of  Israel,  he 
tasted  "the  joy  of  salvation,"  and  passed  away  so  serenely 
that  his  attendants  were  unaware  that  he  had  died. 

Jt  is  refreshing  to  come  into  contact,  as  it  were,  with  this 
grand  soul,  whose  whole  existence  was  heroic.  His  nobility 
invests  with  honour  everything  with  which  he  has  been  asso- 
ciated. It  is  with  reverence  we  gaze  upon  his  shield  and 
helmet  in  Westminster  Abbey,  or  examine  his  signature 
amongst  our  records,  or  read  his  pleasant  words ;  and  the 
tradition  of  his  having  slept,  a  little  child,  in  the  old  cradle 
of  this  memoir,  lends  an  undying  interest  to  its  history. 


260      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART,  THE  SCOTTISH 
MARTYR.  WITH  HIS  TRANSLATION  OF  THE 
HELVETIAN  CONFESSION,  AND  A  GENE- 
ALOGICAL HISTORY  OF  THE  FAMILY  OF 
WISHART. 

BY  THE  REV.  CHARLES  ROGERS,  LL.D., 

Historiographer  to  the  Royal  Historical  Society,  Fellow  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries 
of  Scotland,  and  Corresponding  Member  of  the  Historical  and 
Genealogical  Society  of  New  England. 

AN  inquiry  into  the  life  of  George  Wishart  presented  few 
attractions.  Believing  that  he  claimed  the  gift  of  prophecy, 
Mr  Hill  Burton  *  describes  him  as  "  a  visionary."  Mr  Froude-f- 
charges  him  with  preaching  without  authority  and  with 
illegally  assuming  the  priestly  office.  Professor  Lorimer^; 
alleges  that,  in  his  early  ministry,  he  denied  the  doctrine  of 
the  Atonement.  Mr  Tytler§  has  sought  to  prove  that  he 
intended  murder,  by  conspiring  against  the  life  of  Cardinal 
Beaton.  Having  ventured  on  the  elucidation  of  his  history, 
I  have  investigated  the  charges  brought  against  him,  with 
care  and,  I  trust,  impartiality.  The  result  will  be  found  in 
these  pages.  Meanwhile  I  may  summarise  my  deductions, 
and  say  that  the  martyr  has,  from  the  inquiry,  come  forth 
unstained.  He  did  not  claim  prophetic  powers  ;  he  preached 
with  canonical  sanction  ;  he  did  not  act  as  a  priest  or  ordained 
clergyman  ;  he  taught  the  doctrine  of  the  Atonement  through- 
out his  whole  ministry ;  he  did  not  conspire  against  Beaton, 
and  if  he  knew  of  the  conspiracy  he  condemned  it. 

*  Burton's  History  of  Scotland,  Edin.,  1873,  I2mo,  vol.  iii.,  p.  251. 
t  Froude's  History  of  England,  Lond.,  1870,  vol.  iv.,  p.  177. 
t  Lorimer's  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Scottish  Reformation,  Lond.,  1860. 
§  Tytler's  History  of  Scotland,  Edin.,  1869,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  365-374. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  261 

I  have  accompanied  the  memoir  of  George  Wishart  with 
his  translation  of  the  first  Helvetian  Confession.  I  have 
added  a  genealogical  history  of  the  House  of  Wishart,  which 
includes  a  memoir  of  Sir  John  Wishart  of  Pitarrow. 

For  useful  materials  I  have  been  much  indebted  to  Mr  J.  F. 
Nicholls,  of  the  City  Library,  Bristol,  the  Rev.  Dr  Struthers, 
minister  of  Prestonpans,  and  Robert  R.  Stodart,  Esq.,  of  the 
Lyon  Office.  I  also  record  my  indebtedness  to  the  town- 
clerks  of  Montrose  and  Dundee,  and  to  Mr  Walter  Macleod, 
of  Edinburgh,  who,  as  a  professional  searcher  of  the  Public 
Records,  cannot  be  too  highly  praised. 

MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART. 

During  the  reign  of  the  fifth  James,  the  intolerance  of 
Scottish  churchmen  had  reached  its  height.  The  clergy  were 
cruel  and  rapacious.  They  seized  the  chief  offices  in  the 
State,  and  the  people  groaned  under  their  misrule.  Feign- 
ing charity,  they  practised  avarice.  Their  lives  were  dis- 
solute in  the  extreme.  The  monasteries,  formerly  the  sanc- 
tuaries of  religion  and  letters,  had  become  the  unhallowed 
resorts  of  unblushing  profligacy.  Divine  worship  was  a  thing 
of  unmeaning  pomp  and  empty  ceremony.  Sacerdotal 
oppression  crushed  the  national  energies;  and  with  the 
degradation  of  the  sacred  office  religion  began  to  be  despised. 
Each  confessor,  as  he  arose,  was  dragged  before  the  ecclesias- 
tical tribunal,  and  might  escape  death  only  on  a  recanta- 
tion alike  public  and  degrading.  The  martyrdom  at  St 
Andrews,  in  1527,  of  Patrick  Hamilton,  nephew  of  the  Earl  of 
Arran,  and  a  descendant  of  the  royal  house,  sufficiently 
proved  that,  in  the  maintenance  of  its  supremacy,  the  Roman 
Church  was  determined  to  strike  everywhere.  But  the  death 
of  this  amiable  martyr,  instead  of  repressing,  stimulated 
inquiry,  and  induced  further  investigation  into  the  working  of 
a  system,  maintained  by  the  sale  of  indulgences  on  the  one 
hand,  and  upheld  by  the  executioner  on  the  other. 

James  Wishart  of  Pitarrow,  Clerk  of  Justiciary,  and  King's 
Advocate  in  the  reign  of  James  IV.,  married,  prior  to  the  I3th 


262      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

April  1512,  as  his  second  wife,  Elizabeth  Learmont.  This 
gentlewoman  was  a  daughter  of  Learmont  of  Balcomie,  and 
sister  of  that  James  Learmont,  whose  name  as  a  statesman 
we  shall  find  associated  with  public  events  in  the  interest  of 
the  Reformation.  The  family  were  descended  from  the  older 
House  of  Learmont  of  Ercildoune,  or  Earlston,  in  the  county 
of  Berwick,  of  which  Thomas  the  Rhymer  was  the  most  con- 
spicuous member. 

George  Wishart,  the  future  martyr,  was  the  only  son  of 
James  Wishart  of  Pitarrow,  by  his  second  wife.  He  was 
probably  called  George  after  his  maternal  grandfather ; 
the  name  was  certainly  derived  from  his  mother's  family.* 
The  precise  date  of  his  birth  is  unknown,  but  it  has  generally 
been  assigned  to  the  year  1513.  By  the  death  of  his  father, 
which  took  place  before  May  1525,  his  upbringing  would 
devolve  on  his  mother,  assisted  probably  by  her  brother, 
James  Learmont  of  Balcomie. 

George  Wishart  chose  the  clerical  profession,  in  which 
several  members  of  his  House  had  attained  distinction,  and 
wherein  his  prospects  of  advancement,  owing  to  the  intimacy 
which  subsisted  between  his  family  and  David  Beaton,  Abbot 
of  Arbroath,  the  future  cardinal,  were  not  inconsiderable.^ 
As  his  name  does  not  occur  in  the  registers  of  any  of  the 
Scottish  colleges,  it  is  extremely  probable  that  he  was  sent 
by  his  maternal  uncle  to  one  or  more  of  the  universities 
of  Germany.  During  the  progress  of  his  studies  he  seems  to 
have  embraced  the  Reformed  doctrines.  In  the  year  1534 
John  Erskine  of  Dun  established  at  Montrose  a  school  for  the 
Greek  language,  under  the  superintendence  of  a  learned 
Frenchman.^  On  the  retirement  of  this  foreigner,  Wishart, 
who  had  lately  returned  from  the  Continent,  took  his  place. 
Having  imported  copies  of  the  Greek  Testament,  he  distri- 

*  George  Learmont  was,  in  1531,  infeft  as  "son  and  heir  of  umq1  James 
Learmont  of  Balcomie  and  Grizel  Meldrum." 

t  See  Genealogical  History  of  the  Family  of  Wishart,  infra. 

J  Life  of  John  Erskine  of  Dun  ;  Wodrow  MSS.,  vol.  i.  ;  Biblioth.  Coll., 
Glasg. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  263 

buted  them  among  his  pupils.  This  procedure  was  reported 
to  John  Hepburn,  Bishop  of  Brechin,  who  summoned  him 
to  appear  in  his  diocesan  court.  This  was  in  1538.* 

The  times  were  perilous.  Wishart  saw  his  danger  and  fled. 
Proceeding  to  Cambridge,  he  entered  the  College  of  Bennet 
or  Corpus  Christi.  Cambridge  was  a  nursery  of  the  Reformed 
doctrines.  There,  in  the  Augustinian  monastery  of  which 
Barnes  was  prior,  and  Coverdale  one  of  the  monks,  Bilner 
and  Latimer  had  preached  the  new  faith.  There,  too,  had 
Cranmer  and  Ridley  read  the  Scriptures  in  the  original 
tongues :  the  former  being  a  Fellow  of  Jesus  College,  the 
latter  Master  of  Pembroke. 

Wishart  was  probably  invited  to  Cambridge  by  Dr  Barnes, 
with  whom  he  may  have  contracted  an  intimacy  at  Witten- 
berg, where  that  eminent  divine  resided  with  Luther.  At 
Cambridge  he  was  introduced  to  Hugh  Latimer,  Bishop  of 
Worcester.  By  Latimer  his  acquaintance  would  be  earnestly 
cultivated.  Each  could  point  to  oppression  at  the  hands  of 
bigoted  churchmen.  During  a  preaching  tour  which,  under  a 
licence  from  the  University  of  Cambridge,  he  undertook  in 
1531,  Latimer,  in  the  pulpits  of  Bristol,  denounced  the  doc- 
trine of  purgatory  and  the  invocation  of  the  saints.  His  pre- 
lections were  received  with  favour  by  the  laity  ;  and  on  the  in- 
vitation of  the  mayor  he  consented  to  conduct  service  on  Easter 
Sunday.  Informed  of  his  intention,  the  local  clergy  procured 
an  order  from  the  Bishop  of  Worcester,  an  Italian  named  De 
Ghinuce,  prohibiting  any  clerk  from  conducting  service  in  the 
city,  without  his  special  sanction.  The  clergy  next  accused 
him  of  immorality,  and  as  he  disproved  the  charges  brought 
against  him,  they  arraigned  him  as  a  heretic  in  the  court  of 
Archbishop  Warham.  Their  prosecution  was  stopped  by  the 
accession  of  Cranmer  to  the  primacy.  Being  now  bishop  of 
the  diocese,  which  he  became  in  1535,  he  was  desirous  that 
the  Reformed  doctrines  should  be  preached  in  a  city  where 
a  portion  of  the  laity  were  willing  to  receive  them,  while  as 
bishop  he  hoped  to  protect  the  preacher  from  molestation. 
*  Petrie's  History  of  the  Catholick  Church,  part  ii.,  p.  182. 


264      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Eager  to  obey  his  wishes,  and  to  be  useful  in  the  Church  as 
a  preacher  or  evangelist,  Wishart  agreed  to  proceed  to  Bristol. 

Obtaining  from  Latimer  orders  as  a  reader*  Wishart 
commenced  his  labours  in  Bristol,  by  lecturing,  on  Sunday 
the  1 5th  May  1539,  in  the  church  of  St  Nicholas.  The 
clergy  were  on  the  alert.  They  silenced  Latimer  eight  years 
before,  and  in  1525  had  compelled  Dr  Robert  Barnes  to  bear 
his  faggot/f  Wishart  they  pounced  upon  at  once,  charging 
him  before  the  mayor  and  justices  with  preaching  doctrines 
condemned  by  the  Church. 

Arresting  the  preacher,  the  mayor  sought  direction,  as  to 
further  procedure,  from  the  Recorder,  Lord  Cromwell,  in  the 
following  letter : 

"  Pleaseth  it  your  honourable  Lordship  to  be  advertised  that  Cer- 
teyn  accusations  are  made  and  had  by  Sir  John  Kerell,|  Deane  of 
Bristowe,  deputie  of  the  Bishop  of  Worcester,  our  ordinary,  and  dyvers 
others,  inhabitants  of  Bristowe  foresaid,  against  one  Geo.  Wischarde, 
a  Scotisheman  born,  lately  beyng  before  your  honourable  Lordship  ; 
which  accusations  the  said  deane  and  other  inhabitants  aforesaid 
hath  presented  before  me,  the  Mayor  of  Bristowe  and  justices  of 
peace.  And  the  same  accusations  I  have  received,  sendyng  the  same 
unto  your  said  honourable  Lordship.  And,  furthermore,  the  Cham- 
berlain and  the  Deane  of  Bristowe  shall  sygnyfy  unto  your  honour- 
able Lordship,  the  very  truth  in  the  premysses,  unto  whom  we  shall 
desyre  you  to  give  credence.  And  then  our  Lord  preserve  your 
honourable  Lordship  in  helth  and  welth,  according  unto  your  own 
hardest  desire. 

"At  Bristowe  the  ix.  day  of  June,  Anno  Regis  Henrici  VIII. 
xxxi. 

"  Be  me  THOMAS  JEFFRYES,  Mayor  of  Bristol. 

"  To  the  Right  Honorable  Lord, 
"  Lord  Pryvy  Seale."§ 

*  This  was  an  inferior  order  in  the  Church.  The  reader  possessed  a  faculty 
to  preach,  but  he  was  not  under  the  vow  of  celibacy  like  ecclesiastics  of  a  higher 
grade.  Wishart  is  styled  "the  reader  "  in  the  correspondence  which  follows. 

f  Seyer's  History  of  Bristol,  1821,  2  vols.  8vo,  vol.  ii.,  p.  215. 

I  The  name  of  the  dean  was  Kearne. 

§  From  the  Original  in  the  Public  Record  Office. 


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FROM  THE  MAYOR'S  CALENDAR  BRISTOL. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  265 

Wishart  in  the  hands  of  Lord  Cromwell  was  safe.  But 
hostile  influences  were  at  work.  On  Monday  the  i6th  May, 
the  day  subsequent  to  the  lecture  in  St  Nicholas'  church, 
the  Duke  of  Norfolk  introduced,  in  the  House  of  Peers,  the 
"  Bloody  Act  of  the  Six  Articles,"*  intended  to  restore  Catholic 
ascendancy,  and  prove  a  scourge  to  those  who  maintained 
Protestant  sentiments.  In  June  the  Act  passed  both  Houses 
of  Parliament,  and,  receiving  the  royal  assent,  became  law. 
Forthwith  ecclesiastical  courts,  assuming  the  worst  features  of 
the  Inquisition,  began  to  persecute  to  extremity  those  who 
upheld  the  new  opinions.  For  refusing  to  subscribe  the 
articles  Bishop  Latimer  was  thrown  into  prison,  and  com- 
pelled to  resign  his  bishopric.  The  persecution  which  over- 
took him  was  extended  to  his  protege  the  reader.  An  indict- 
ment by  the  Bristol  clergy  against  Wishart,  was  laid  before 
an  ecclesiastical  court,  consisting  of  the  Primate,  Archbishop 
Cranmer,  who  still  halted  between  two  opinions,  Clark,  Bishop 
of  Bath,  Repps,  Bishop  of  Norwich,  and  Sampson,  Bishop  of 
Chichester.  Advised  by  Cranmer,  Wishart  consented  to 
retract.  Receiving  his  submission,  the  court  ordained  him 
to  carry  a  faggot  in  St  Nicholas'  church,  Bristol,  on  Sunday 
the  1 3th  July,  and  in  Christ  church,  of  the  same  city,  on 
the  following  Sunday.*}* 

The  heresy  of  which  Wishart  was  accused  is  mentioned  in 
a  contemporary  record,  belonging  to  the  corporation  of 
Bristol,  known  as  the  Mayor's  Calendar.  Commenced  in 
1479  by  Robert  Riccart,  the  town-clerk,  the  record  was 
continued  under  the  direction  of  the  municipal  authorities ; 
it  is  now  preserved  among  the  muniments  of  the  city. 
Of  the  entry  relating  to  Wishart,  having  obtained  a  photo- 
graph, we  present  a  facsimile  on  the  opposite  page.  It  reads 
thus : 

"  1639,  H.  VIII.  xxx,  Mem. 
"That  this  year  the  15th  of  May  a  Scott,  named  George  Wysard, 

*  Froude's  History  of  England,  Lond.,  1870,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  199-217. 
+  Memoirs,  Historical  and  Biographical,  vol.  ii. ,  p.  223. 


266      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

sett  furth  his  lecture  in  S.  Nicholas  Church  of  Bristowe,  the  moost 
blasphemous  heresy  that  ever  was  heard :  openly  declaryng  that 
Christ  nother  hathe  nor  coulde  merite  for  him,  ne  yett  for  vs  :  Which 
heresy  brought  many  of  the  Comons  of  this  Towne  into  a  grete  Error: 
and  dyvers  of  theym  were  persuaded  by  that  heretical  lecture  to 
heresy.  Whereupon  the  said  stiffeneck'd  Scott  was  accused  by  Mr 
John  Kerne,  Deane  of  this  Diocese  of  Worc(ester),  and  soone  aft.  he 
was  sent  to  the  moost  Reverend  {father  in  God,  the  Archebishop  of 
Cantrebury,  before  whom  and  others,  that  is  to  signifie  the  Bisshops 
of  Bathe,  Norwhiche,  and  Chichestre,  w.  otheres  as  Doctors,  etc. 
And  he  before  theym  was  examined,  conuicted  and  condemned, 
in  and  vpon  the  destestable  heresy  aboue  mentioned.  Where- 
vpon  he  was  injoyned  to  bere  a  ffaggott  in  S.  Nicholas  Churche 
forsaid,  and  the  parishe  of  the  same  the  xiijth  day  of  July  as 
foresaid  :  And  in  Christe  Churche  and  parishe  therof  the  xxth  day 
of  July  abouesaid.  Which  Injunction  was  duely  executed  in  forme 
forsaid." 

Under  the  belief  that  the  words  "  Christ  nother  hathe 
nor  coulde  merite  for  him,  ne  yett  for  us,"  represent 
the  charge  brought  against  the  preacher,  Mr  Seyer,  in  his 
"History  of  Bristol,"  remarks  that  Wishart  "seems  to  have 
adopted  notions  similar  to  those  which  were  afterwards 
brought  to  a  system  under  the  name  of  Socinianism."* 
Adopting  a  similar  view  of  the  passage,  Professor  Lorimer 
writes  : 

"  It  does  not  admit  of  a  doubt  that  Wishart  had  fallen  at  this  early 
period  of  his  life,  while  his  views  of  Divine  truth  were  still  immature, 
into  some  serious  misapprehension  on  the  subject  of  the  merits  of 
Christ  and  the  way  of  human  redemption.  If  the  Popish  churchmen 
of  Bristol  had  been  his  only  judges,  we  might  have  been  justified 
in  receiving,  with  hesitation,  so  strange  an  accusation ;  because 
he  was  no  doubt  even  then  a  vigorous  opponent  of  Popish 
doctrines.  And  it  was  probably  his  zeal  in  attacking  the  doctrine 
of  mediatory  merit,  in  the  case  of  the  Romish  saints,  which  carried 
him  into  the  heretical  extreme  of  denying  the  mediatory  merit 
of  the  Redeemer  himself.  But  as  he  was  sent  up  to  London  to 
be  tried  by  a  tribunal  over  which  Cranmer  presided,  it  is  only  fair 
*  Seyer's  History  of  Bristol,  vol.  ii.,  p.  223. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  267 

to  conclude  that  the  sentence  which  that  tribunal  pronounced  upon 
him  was  just."* 

These  conclusions  are  unwarranted.  As  Wishart  preached 
at  Bristol  under  the  sanction  of  Bishop  Latimer,  it  may  surely 
be  assumed  that  his  doctrines  did  not  materially  differ  from 
those  of  his  patron.  And  the  charge  of  Socinianism  is 
further  rebutted  in  words  which  he  used  in  translating  the 
Helvetian  Confession  not  long  afterwards.  That  translation 
contains  the  following  sentence  : 

"  As  he  [Christ]  onely  is  our  mediatour  and  intercessour,  hoste 
and  sacrifice,  byshop  lord  and  our  kynge,  also  do  'we  acknowledge 
and  confesse  him  onely  to  be  our  attonement  and  ransome,  satis- 
faction, expiacion  ;  our  wsdome,  our  defence,  and  our  onely  de- 
liuerer ;  refusyng  utterly  all  other  meanes  of  lyfe  and  saluacion,  except 
thus  by  Chryst  onely." 

In  the  interval  between  quitting  intercourse  with  Latimer 
— immediately  before  his  visit  to  Bristol — and  his  living  on 
the  Continent  soon  after  that  visit,  was  Wishart  likely  to  deny 
the  fundamental  doctrines  of  Protestant  theology  ?  Does  the 
statement  of  the  Bristol  chronicler  warrant  so  improbable 
a  conclusion  ?  Read  in  their  present  form,  the  words  descrip- 
tive of  Wishart's  teaching  are  confused  and  meaningless.  In 
asserting  the  general  proposition  that  Christ's  merit  availed 
not  for  others,  was  he  likely  to  strengthen  the  affirmation  by 
a  special  allusion  to  himself?  A  chief  error  of  the  Romish 
Church,  against  which  the  early  English  Reformers  preached, 
was  the  worship  of  the  Virgin.  By  inserting  the  word 
mother  before  "  nother  "  in  the  record,  the  passage  obtains 
an  intelligibility  which  it  at  present  lacks.  Thus  :  "  George 
Wysard  sett  furth  his  lecture,  in  S.  Nicholas  Church  of 
Bristowe,  the  moost  blasphemous  heresy  that  ever  was 
heard  ;  openly  declaryng  that  Christ  [mother]  nother  hathe 
nor  coulde  merite  for  him,  ne  yett  for  vs."  Finding,  in  im- 

*  The  Scottish  Reformation  :  An  Historical  Sketch,  by  Dr  Peter  Lorimer, 
Lond.,  1860,  pp.  92-96. 


268      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

mediate  juxtaposition,  two  words  similar  in  form,  as  are 
mother  and  nother,  the  engrossing  clerk  had  inadvertently 
omitted  one  of  them,  a  species  of  error  into  which  transcribers 
are  prone  to  fall.  Had  the  preacher  affirmed,  as  part  of  his 
creed,  that  the  Redeemer's  merit  did  not  extend  to  himself 
personally,  the  Romish  clergy  would  probably  have  permitted 
this  portion  of  his  doctrine  to  pass  uncondemned.  But 
Wishart  certainly  taught  that  the  Virgin  mother  had  no 
merit  either  for  her  Divine  Son,  or  for  any  others. 

In  connection  with  Wishart's  persecution  at  Bristol,  three 
remarkable  letters  are  preserved  in  the  Cottonian  MSS.* 
These  letters  have  different  signatures,  but  are  all  evidently 
written  by  one  person  who,  residing  at  Bristol,  was  intimately 
conversant  with  the  habits  and  peculiarities  of  the  leading 
citizens.  With  the  signature  of  William  Ryppe,  the  following 
letter  bears  to  be  despatched  from  Coventry  to  Thomas 
White  in  Bread  Street,  Bristol : 

"  '  Grace  and  pece  be  with  us.' 

"  O  yow  enemys  to  godes  worde,  why  hath  yow  accused  the 
same  yong  faithfull  man  that  dyd  rede  the  lector  the  very  worde  of 
god,  he  dyd  no  thing  but  scripture  wold  bere  hym,  and  to  dis- 
charge his  conscience  ?  Thowgh  the  kynge  and  his  counsell,  w.  his 
clergy  hath  made  suche  ordynance,  yet  they  that  be  lerned  will  leve 
the  kynges  ordinance  &  styk  to  the  ordinance  of  god,  which  is 
the  Kyng  of  all  Kynges.  And  we  be  bounde  to  dy  in  god  quarell 
and  leve  the  ordinance  of  man,  and  there  this  good  yong  man  is 
trobelid ;  but  I  trust  yow  shall  all  repent  hit  shortly,  when  my  lord 
privy  scale  t  do  heare  of  it.  And  yow  folys  mayer,  and  that  knave 

*  Brit.  Mus.,  Cotton  MSS.,  Cleopatra  EV.,  fol.  390. 

t  The  celebrated  Thomas  Cromwell,  Earl  of  Essex,  who  held  office  as  Recorder 
of  Bristol,  was  also  Keeper  of  the  Privy  Seal.  In  the  books  of  the  city  chamber- 
lain is  the  following  entry,  respecting  a  balance  of  salary  due  to  Lord  Essex  at  the 
time  of  his  execution  :  ' '  For  so  much  the  £20  charged  in  this  side,  paid  to  the 
Lord  of  Essex,  late  Recorder  of  this  town,  for  his  fee  due  to  him  at  the  feast  of  the 
Nativity  of  our  Lord  God  in  Anno  1540  :  which  customary  used  to  be  paid  at  one 
time  :  and  for  that  the  said  Lord  of  Essex  was  beheaded  before  that  feast  in  the 
same  year,  anno  1540,  we,  the  auditors,  find  that  the  £20  ought  not  to  be  allowed 
in  this  account." 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  269 

Thomas  White,  w.  the  lyar  Abynton,*  the  prater  Pacy,t  &  flatering 
Hutton,}  &  Dronkyn  Tonell,§  folis  Coke,||  dremy  Smyth,H  &  the 
nigarde  Thorne,  **  hasty  Sylke,  ft  stuttyng  Elyott,ft  symple  Hart,§§ 
&  grynning  Pryn,||||  prowde  Addamys,UH  &  pore  Woddus,***  the 
sturdy  parson  of  saynt  Stevyns,  the  prowde  Vicar  of  saynt  Lenardes, 
the  lying  parson  of  saynt  Jonys,ttt  the  dronken  parson  of  saynt 
Eweens, |||  the  brayling  wrr  of  the  calenders,  the  prating  Vikar  of 

*  The  Abyndons  were  an  old  Bristol  family.  Henry  Abyndon,  Bachelor  of 
Music  at  Cambridge  in  1463,  was  a  member  of  King's  Chapel,  and  Master  of  St 
Catherine's  Hospital,  Brightbow,  Bedminster.  In  1550  there  is  mention  of 
"Abyndon  ys  Inne."  This  inn  was  rebuilt  before  1565,  and  was  then  known  as 
the  new  inn.  The  individual  mentioned  in  the  letter  was  probably  Richard  Abyn- 
don, who  was  mayor  of  Bristol  in  1526,  and  again  in  1537-  In  I529  ne  was 
elected  M.  P.  In  an  old  calendar  of  the  city,  the  following  entry  occurs  :  "  On 
the  1 7th  of  July  there  was  such  thundering  and  lightening  which  lasted  from  8 
o'  the  clock  at  night  untill  4  next  morning,  which  was  fearfull  for  to  heare  ;  but 
when  Richard  Abbingdon  deceased  the  thunder  also  ceased  presently." 

t  "  The  prater  Pacy  "  was  probably  the  vicar  of  All-Hallows  ;  but  a  person 
of  the  name  was  mayor  of  Bristol  in  1532. 

£  Hutton  cannot  be  identified.  §  Tonnell  was  mayor  of  Bristol  in  1529. 

||  Coke  was  mayor  in  I535>  and  M.P.  in  1537. 

IF  Smyth  was  sheriff  of  Bristol  in  1533. 

**  Nicholas  Thorne  was  a  wealthy  shipowner,  and  founder  of  a  school  at  Bristol. 
He  served  as  sheriff  in  1529.  In  1537  he  represented  the  borough  in  Parliament, 
and  in  1545  was  elected  mayor.  He  died  August  igth,  1546.  •  His  portrait  by 
Holbein  is  extant. 

+t  A  person  named  Sylke  was  sheriff  of  Bristol  in  1530 ;  and  the  "  proude  vicar 
of  St  Leonards"  was  also  Thomas  Sylke.  Both  belonged  to  an  old  Bristol  family 
of  the  name.  William  Sylke  was  rector  of  All-Hallows  in  1264,  when  "  Isonde, 
relict  of  Hugh  Calvestone,  grants  lands  to  the  Church,  on  payment  of  a  yearly 
rent  of  a  penny  or  a  pair  of  gloves  at  her  option."  By  another  deed,  dated  about 
the  same  period,  William  Sylke  "gives,  grants,  and  confirms  in  fee,  for  the  souls 
of  his  father,  John  Sylke,  his  mother,  Isabella,  and  all  his  predecessors  and  suc- 
cessors," money  "  to  keep  a  lamp  for  ever  burning  in  the  church  of  All-Hallows  " 
— the  said  money  to  be  derived  from  land  in  Seatepull  Street,  Bristol.  In  1547 
a  Mrs  Sylke  bequeathed  to  the  poor  of  St  Thomas's  parish  three  shillings  for 
annual  distribution. 

{$  Robert  Ellyott  was  Sheriff  of  Bristol  in  1522,  mayor  in  1541,  and  M.P.  irt 
1542.  In  the  patents  of  1501  and  1502,  for  the  discovery  and  settlement  of  the 
lands  in  America,  his  father,  Hugh  Ellyott,  was  associated  with  Ward,  Ashe- 
hurst,  Thomas,  and  Thorne,  merchants  of  Bristol. 

§§  Hart  was  sheriff  of  Bristol  in  1536.  ||||  Pryn  was  sheriff  in  1537. 

HIT  Addamys  was  mayor  of  Bristol  in  1546. 
***  Woddus  was  Sheriff  of  Bristol  in  1535. 
ttt  Thomas  Tasker.  JJj  Waterhouse. 


270      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

allhalowys,  w.  dyvers   other   knave   preistes,    shall   all  repent   this 
doing.     Farewell  the  enemys  of  the  worde  of  god. 

"  Writen  in  haste  at  the  noble  cyty  of  Coleyn  by  yor  loviar 
William  Ryppe  of  Brystow." 

(Inserted  on  the  margin.") 

"  The  worshipfull  mr  Thomas  White  in  Bredestrete 
in  Bristow  this  letter  be  delyvered  w.  spede  from 
Coventre." 

The  second  letter  bears  to  have  been  written  at  Rome,  by 
Thomas  Abynton.  It  is  addressed  on  the  margin  : 

"  To  the  worshipfull  mr  Thomas  Abynton, 
in  Bristow,  this  letter  be  delyvered  from 
Croydyn  to  Bristow." 

The  letter  proceeds : 

"  Yet  onys  agayne  to  the  enemys  of  godes  worde  as  ye  knave 
the  mayer,  very  fole  to  the  kynges  grace,  &  enemys  to  my 
lorde  pryvy  scale,  and  to  yr  awne  sell. 

"  O  yow  knavys  and  enemys  to  the  worde  of  god  now  yow 
may  se  what  cruelty  yow  dyd  use  in  putting  this  faithfull  Reder  in 
pryson,  and  now  be  glad  to  putt  hym  owt  agayne  :  If  yow  had  not 
yow  sholde  have  bene  burned  owt  of  yor  howsyng,  yow  shall  repent 
this  doing  iff  some  of  us  do  lyve,  and  specially  some  of  the  knave 
preists  :  as  the  same  prowde  knave  the  Vykar  of  saynt  Leonardes,* 
rowling  his  night  cappe  of  velvett  every  day  and  not  able  to  chaunge 
a  man  agrote,  &  the  dronken  parson  of  saynt  Jonys,t&that  per- 
petuall  knave  the  parson  of  saynt  Stevyns,  &  brasyn  face  knave  of 
allhalows,  baburlyppe  knave  the  preist  of  saynt  Leonardes,  w.  long 
syr  harry,  and  lytle  Sr  Thomas,  w.  the  vycar  of  saynt  Austens,  the 
olde  fole.  All  these  of  this  diocese  that  have  cure  shall  go  lyke 
knavys  to  sing  Ave  regina  when  the  byshoope  cum,|  for  they  have 
warning  the  last  visitacion,  &  take  this  my  warning  yow  knavys  all. 
Now  to  the  Temporally.  That  same  knave  Thomas  Whyte  now  doth 

*  Thomas  Sylke  was  vicar  of  St  Leonards.  t  Thomas  Tasker. 

£  Bishop  Richard,  who  was  employed  as  a  royal  commissioner  at  Bristol  for  the 
surrender  of  the  monastery. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  271 

begyn  to  shrynke  in  his  harnys,  but  that  shall  not  helpe  hym.  And 
the  folishe  mayer  must  folow  a  many  of  knavys  counsell,  &  at  the 
instance  of  the  two  poticarys,*  the  false  knavys  that  ever  was  Schrevys 
this  mr  yere,  and  wily  knavys,  but  they  shall  smart  for  this  yere, 
And  that  flatering  Hutton,  and  dronken  Pacy  &  false  towne- 
clerke.f  Also  the  knavys  do  loke  for  the  suttyll  Recorder,  but  when 
he  come  if  he  do  not  holde  w*  the  trew  worde  of  god,  my  lorde 
pryvy  scale  shall  bydd  hym  walke  lyke  a  knave  as  he  is.  Therefore 
I  do  advyse  yow,  be  ware  and  discharge  the  suretyes  of  the  Reader 
by  tyme  :  or  els  yow  will  repent  hitt  for  he  shall  make  as  many  as 
xxty  of  you  if  nede  do  requyre.  Fare  yow  well  all  yow  knavys  all 
that  do  holde  agaynst  the  same  honest  man  the  reader,  for  he  doth 
regard  the  kyng  of  hevyn  before  the  kyng  of  England.  And  thus 
fare  yow  well  yow  shall  knowe  more  of  my  mynde  when  or  byshopp 
come  from  London. 

"  Yor  lovyer  and  frende  Thomas  Abynton  in  all  haste  from 
Rome  the  xth  day  of  January." 

The  third  letter  is  addressed  to  Thomas  Sylke,  Vicar  of  St 
Leonards  ;  and  as  the  writer  demands  that  the  reader  should 
be  set  free  before  the  bishop  was  informed  of  his  detention, 
it  was  probably  the  first  written. 

"  To  the  stynkyng  knave  Sylke,  Vykar  of  saynt  Leonardes. 
"  Thow  stynkyng  knave,  I  cast  in  a  letter  of  late  into  thy 
chamber  to  delyver  to  the  lying  knave  Thomas  or  Richard 
Abyngton,  but  thow,  lyke  a  knave,  must  delyver  the  letter  to  that 
knave  Thomas  Whyte.  Be  sure  thow  shalt  lese  one  day  one  of  thy 
eares,  &  that  ere  it  be  myddell  lent  sonday.  Remembre  my  sayng, 
I  do  write  unto  yow  after  a  charitable  maner  that  yow  may  de- 
lyver the  reader  ere  the  Byshoppe  do  knowe  of  it.  For  when  he  do 
heare  of  it  he  will  ruffyll  amonges  yow  for  it.  The  knave  Shrevys  be 

*  One  of  these  two  apothecaries  was  David  Harris.  He  was  sheriff  in  1539,  and 
mayor  in  1551.  When  Richard  Sharp  was  suffering  at  the  stake  for  heresy,  in 
1557,  he  was  encouraged  by  one  Thomas  Hale,  a  shoemaker.  This  act  so  enraged 
Alderman  Harris  that  he  had  Hale  seized  in  his  bed,  and  committed  to  Newgate ; 
he  was  afterwards  condemned  and  burned.  When  Queen  Elizabeth  visited  Bris- 
tol in  1573,  David  Harris  was  ejected  from  the  office  of  alderman.  The  other 
"  poticary  "  was  probably  a  relative. 

t  The  town  clerk  was  John  Colys. 


272      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

a  greate  occasion  of  the  same  pore  man  the  readers  trowble,  and 
specially  that  knave  Harrye,  the  potecary.  There  is  a  nother  knave 
Harrys  *  in  towne,  &  that  a  pryvy  and  wily  knave  as  ever  lyved, 
crafty  and  suttyll,  and  a  greate  enemy  to  the  worde  of  god  :  but 
when  the  Byshoppe  do  come,  he  shall  handle  hym  in  his  kynde  ; 
thowgh  that  the  same  knave  Nicoll  Thome  t  do  faver  hym,  he  shall 
not  helpe  hym,  nother  that  ypocrite  his  wife  also.  O  yovv  hard- 
harted  knavys  that  will  not  faver  the  worde  of  god,  when  such 
a  faithfull  yong  man  dyd  take  paynes  to  reade  the  trew  worde  of 
god  and  yow  to  trowble  hym  for  his  labor.  May  not  yow  be  sory  ? 
yes  trewly.  And  if  yow  had  not  delyvered  hym  owt  of  pryson  the 
rather,  he  shold  have  come  owt  spyte  of  yor  teth  ;  like  knavys  as  yow 
be  all  discharge  his  suretys,  I  will  advise  yow.  Say  not  but  yow  have 
warning.  For  if  the  Poyntmakers  i  do  ryse,  some  of  yow  will  lese 
theyre  eares  and  that  shortly.  I  understande  yow  will  do  no  thing 
tyll  the  knave  Recorder  do  come.  I  do  not  mene  my  good  lord 
pryvy  scale.  I  do  not  call  hym  knave ;  but  I  call  Davy  Broke  § 
knave  and  gorbely  knave,  and  that  droncken  Gervys,||  that  lubber 
Antony  Payne,U  &  slovyn  William  Yong,**  and  that  dobyll  knave 
William  Chester.ft  For  sometymes  he  is  w.  us  and  sometymes  w. 
the  knaves,  but  he  shalbe  a  long  knave  for  it,  &  his  wife  a  folishe 
drabbe  for  she  is  the  enemy  of  goddes  worde.  Fare  yow  well  for 
his  tyme,  yor  loving  frende  the  goodman'parson  of  saynt  Stevyns,  in 
Bedmyster,  besydes  the  kynges  towne  of  Faterford,  commende  me 
to  all  the  knave  preistes  that  be  the  enemys  of  goddes  worde.  For 
if  we  lyve  &  the  byshoppe  together,  they  shall  not  trowble  this 
towne  except  the  kynge  do  fayle  us.  For  the  knavys  have  no  lern- 
ing  nor  none  will  lerne.  Yet  onys  again  fare  yow  well. 

"  By  yor  lovyer  David  Harrys,  poticary,  &  that  scalde  knave 
William  Fay,  from  the  port  of  saynt  Mary. 

"  Commende  me  to  that  grynnyng  knave  the  false  towne  clerke, 

*  Rector  of  the  grammar  school.  f  Nicholas  Thorn. 

+  The  pointmakers  were  a  flourishing  guild  at  Bristol. 

§  David  Broke  was  mayor  of  the  city  in  1527.         ||  Gervys  was  sheriff  in  1526. 

IT  Antony  Payne  was  sheriff  in  1534.         **  William  Yong  was  .mayor  in  1540. 

ft  William  Chester  was  mayor  in   1538.      In  the  following  year  he  obtained 

a  grant  of  the  site  of  the  Blackfriars  monastery.     When  in  May  1549  there  was  an 

insurrection  in  the  city,  under  Fykes'  mayoralty,  he  appeared  for  the  malcontents, 

and  obtained  a  pardon  for  them  from  Edward  VI. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  273 

he  shall  repent  other  thinges,  yow  knowe  what  I  meane.  Commende 
me  to  old  folishe  Sprynge,*  &  to  the  angry  Pykes,f  w.  dyvers 
other  which  do  not  come  to  my  mynde  now,  but  another  tyme  be- 
ware mo  of  yow." 

» 

Having,  by  burning  his  faggot,  escaped  death  as  the  result 
of  his  evangelical  labours  at  Bristol,  Wishart  proceeded  to 
the  Continent.  According  to  Bishop  Lesley,  his  contemporary, 
"he  remained  long  in  Germany  ."I  In  defending  himself  during 
his  trial  at  St  Andrews  he  referred  to  his  having  sailed  on  the 
Rhine ;  and  as  he  translated  into  English  the  first  Confession 
of  the  Helvetian  Churches,  it  is  probable  that  he  visited 
Switzerland.  In  1542  he  returned  to  Cambridge,  and  there 
sought  employment  as  a  tutor.  Respecting  this  portion  of 
his  career,  we  obtain  the  following  particulars  in  a  com- 
munication made  to  Foxe,  the  martyrologist,  by  Emery 
Tylney,  one  of  his  pupils  : 

"  About  the  yeare  of  our  Lord,  a  thousand,  five  hundreth,  fortie 
and  three,  there  was,  in  the  universitie  of  Cambridge,  one  Maister 
George  Wischart,  commonly  called  Maister  George  of  Bennet's 
Colledge,  who  was  a  man  of  tall  stature,  polde  headed,  and  on  the 
same  a  French  cap  of  the  best.  Judged  of  melancholye  complexion 
by  his  phsiognomie,  blacke  haired,  long  bearded,  comely  of  person- 
age, well  spoken  after  his  country  of  Scotland,  courteous,  lowly, 
lovely,  glad  to  teach,  desirous  to  learne,  and  was  well  trauelled,  hau- 
ing  on  him  for  his  habit  or  clothing,  neuer  but  a  mantell  frise  gowne 
to  the  shoes,  a  blacke  Millian  fustain  dublet,  and  plaine  blacke  hosen, 
course  new  canuasse  for  his  shirtes,  and  white  falling  bandes  and 
cuffes  at  the  handes.  All  the  which  apparell,  he  gaue  to  the  poore, 
some  weekly,  some  monethly,  some  quarterly  as  hee  liked,  sauing  his 
Frenche  cappe,  which  hee  kept  the  whole  yeare  of  my  beeing  with 
him.  Hee  was  a  man  modest,  temperate,  fearing  God,  hating  couet- 
ousnesse,  for  his  charitie  had  neuer  ende,  nighte,  morne,  nor  daye, 
hee  forbare  one  meale  in  three,  one  day  in  foure  for  the  most  part, 
except  something  to  comfort  nature.  Hee  lay  hard  upon  a  pouffe  of 

*  Mayor  in  1540.  t  Sheriff  in  1533. 

J  Lesley's  History  of  Scotland,  Edin.,  1838,  p.  191. 

s 


274      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

straw,  course  new  canuasse  sheetes,  which,  when  he  change,  he  gaue 
away.  He  had  commonly  by  his  bedside  a  tubbe  of  water,  in  the 
which  (his  people  being  in  bed,  the  candle  put  out,  and  all  quiet)  hee 
used  to  bathe  himselfe,  as  I  being  very  yong,  being  assured  offen 
heard  him,  and  in  one  light  night  discerned  him  ;  hee  loved  me 
tenderly,  and  I  him,  for  my  age,  as  effectually.  Hee  taught  with 
great  modestie  and  grauitie,  so  that  some  of  his  people  thought  him 
seuere,  and  would  haue  slain  him,  but  the  Lord  was  his  defence. 
And  hee,  after  due  correction  for  their  malice,  by  good  exhortation 
amended  them,  and  hee  went  his  way.  O  that  the  Lord  had  left 
him  to  mee  his  poore  boy,  that  he  might  haue  finished  that  hee  had 
begunne  !  For  in  his  Religion  hee  was  as  you  see  heere  in  the  rest 
of  his  life,  when  he  went  into  Scotland  with  diuers  of  the  Nobilitie, 
that  came  for  a  treaty  to  King  Henry  the  eight.  His  learning  was 
no  less  sufficient,  than  his  desire,  alwayes  pres'  and  readie  to  do  good 
in  that  hee  was  able  both  in  the  house  priuately,  and  in  the  schoole 
publickely,  professing  and  reading  diuers  authours. 

"  If  I  should  declare  his  love  to  mee  and  all  men,  his  charitie  to 
the  poore,  in  giuing,  relieuing,  caring,  helping,  prouiding,  yea  infin- 
itely studying  how  to  do  good  unto  all,  and  hurt  to  none,  I  should 
sooner  want  words  than  just  cause  to  commend  him. 

"  All  this  I  testifie  with  my  whole  heart  and  trueth  of  this  godly 
man.  H^e  that  made  all,  gouerneth  all,  and  shall  judge  all,  knoweth 
I  speake  the  truthe,  that  the  simple  may  be  satisfied,  the  arrogant 
confounded,  the  hypocrite  disclosed.  EMERY  TYLNEY."  * 

To  complete  the  long-pending  negotiations  with  the  Eng- 
lish Government  for  the  marriage  of  Edward  Prince  of  Wales 
with  the  infant  Queen  Mary,  commissioners  from  Scotland 
proceeded  to  London  in  June  1543.  These  commissioners 
were  the  Earl  of  Glencairn,  Sir  George  Douglas,  Sir  William 
Hamilton  of  Sanquhar,  James  Learmont  of  Balcomie,  and 
Henry  Balnaves.  They  met  the  English  commissioners  at 
Greenwich  on  the  1st  of  July,  when  the  marriage  treaty 
was  settled,  and  certain  differences  between  the  countries 
amicably  adjusted.^  When  the  commissioners  left  Scot- 

*  Foxe's  Acts  and  Monuments,  ed.  1596,  p.  1155. 
t  Rymer's  Foedera,  vol.  xiv.,  pp.  786-791. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  275 

land,  the  governor  Arran,  then  a  professor  of  the  Reformed 
faith,  was  at  variance  with  Cardinal  Beaton  ;  and  as  no  recon- 
ciliation between  them  seemed  probable,  Learmont  of  Bal- 
comie  regarded  the  season  as  especially  suitable  for  his 
relative  leaving  Cambridge  and  returning  to  the  north.  Ac- 
cepting his  counsel,  Wishart  joined  the  commissioners,  and 
accompanied  them  to  Scotland,  which  they  reached  before 
the  3 1st  of  July.* 

Wishart  intended  at  once  to  enter  upon  the  duties  of  an 
evangelist.  But  the  altered  condition  of  public  affairs 
rendered  such  a  proceeding  absolutely  dangerous.  Beaton 
had  regained  his  authority,  and  the  weak  governor,  in 
becoming  reconciled  to  him,  evidenced  a  desire  to  .per- 
petuate his  friendship  by  publicly  abjuring  the  Reformed 
faith. 

Amidst  the  perils  of  the  time,  Wishart  found  a  retreat  in 
his  native  home,  the  mansion  of  Pitarrow.-f-  There  he  re- 
mained from  July  1543  till  the  spring  of  1545,  dividing  his 
time  between  the  study  of  theology  and  the  cultivation  of 
the  arts.  When  the  old  mansion  of  Pitarrow  was  being  demo- 
lished in  1802,  |  the  workmen  laid  open,  under  the  wainscot- 
ing which  covered  the  walls  of  the  great  hall,  a  series  of  well 
executed  paintings. 

These  paintings  were  in  bright  colours.  One  over  the  fire- 
place represented  the  Pope  on  horseback,  attended  by  a  com- 
pany of  cardinals,  uncovered.  In  front  stood  a  white  palfrey, 
richly  caparisoned,  held  by  a  person  in  elegant  apparel.  Be- 
yond was  the  Cathedral  of  St  Peter,  of  which  the  doors  were 
open,  as  if  to  receive  the  procession.  Under  the  painting 
were  these  lines : 


*  Sadler's  State  Papers,  vol.  i.,  pp.  235,  242-245.  Knox,  who  mentions 
Wishart's  return  to  Scotland  with  the  commissioners,  erroneously  states  that  the 
event  took  place  in  1544  (Knox's  History,  ed.  1846,  vol.  i.,  p.  102). 

f  Pitarrow  is  situated  in  a  rural  district,  fifteen  miles  from  Montrose,  on  the  east 
coast  of  Forfarshire. 

£  Dr  George  Cook's  History  of  the  Scottish  Reformation,  vol.  i.,  p.  272  ;  New 
Statistical  Account,  Kincardineshire,  p.  81. 


276      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

i 

"7«  Papam. 

"  Laus  tua  non  tua  fraus  :  virtus,  non  gloria  rerum 
Scandere  te  fecit  hoc  decus  eximium. 
Dat  sua  pauperibus  gratis  nee  munera  curat 
Curia  Papalis  quod  more  percipimus. 

HCEC  carmina  poiuis  legenda  cancros  imitando. " 

Literally  rendered,  the  inscription  reads  : 

"  Thy  merit,  not  thy  craft ;  thy  worth,  not  thy  ambition,  raised 
thee  to  this  pitch  of  eminence.  The  Papal  Curia,  as  we  well  know, 
gives  freely  to  the  poor,  nor  grudges  its  gifts." 

But  as  the  writer  informs  us  his  verses  are  to  be  read  by  im- 
itating crabs — that  is,  backwards — a  very  different  meaning  is 
derived — thus  : 

"  The  Papal  Curia,  as  we  well  know,  grudges  its  gifts,  nor  bestows 
on  the  poor  freely.  To  this  pitch  of  eminence  thy  ambition  raised 
thee,  not  thy  worth  ;  thy  craft,  not  thy  merit" 

Knox  writes:  "  Wishart  excelled  in  all  human  science."* 
During  his  first  residence  in  Germany  he  may  have  acquired 
the  art  of  painting,  and  he  might  have  studied  under  Holbein. 
The  brilliancy  of  colour  apparent  in  the  Pitarrow  paintings 
would  certainly  assign  them  to  an  artist  of  the  German  school. 
To  the  narrative  of  Wishart's  character,  supplied  to  Foxe, 
Tylney  adds  these  lines,  which  he  styles : 

"DOGMATA  EJUSDEM  GEORGII. 

"  Fides  sola  sine  operibus  justificat ; 
Opera  ostendunt  et  ostentant  fidem  ; 
Romana  ecclesia  putativ^  caput  mundi, 
Lex  canonica  caput  Papse, 
Missse  ministerium,  mysterium  iniquitatis."t 

There  is  here,  as  in  the  lines  on  the  painting  at  Pitarrow,  a 
double  meaning.  This  bipartite  arrangement  is  intended  : 

*  Knox's  History,  ed.  1846,  vol.  i.,  p.  125. 

t  Foxe's  Acts  and  Monuments,  ed.  1596,  p.  1155. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  277 

"  Fides  sola sine  operibus  justificat 

Opera  ostendunt  et  ostentant    .  fidem 

Romana  ecclesia putative  caput  mundi 

Lex  canonica caput  Papae 

Missse  ministerium     ....  mysterium  iniquitatis." 

In  the  first  division,  Rome  asserts  :  "  This  is  the  one  faith. 
The  Roman  Church,  the  canon  law,  the  service  of  the  mass, 
prove  and  show  good  works."  In  the  other,  the  preacher  pre- 
sents his  confession  :  "  Papal  supremacy,  that  mystery  of 
iniquity,  which  thinks  itself  the  head  of  the  world,  justifies 
faith  without  works." 

It  would  be  rash  to  affirm  that  a  similarity  of  manner  and 
sentiment,  striking  as  it  certainly  is,  proves  that  the  dogmata 
and  the  Pitarrow  inscription  proceeded  from  the  same  pen. 
But  the  assertion  will  be  allowed,  that  George  Wishart,  who 
wrote  the  dogmata,  translated  the  Helvetian  Confession,  and 
died  in  testimony  of  his  hatred  of  Romish  error,  might  have 
composed  an  inscription  in  his  paternal  mansion  which  con- 
demned the  Papacy.  Such  an  inscription  he  was  more  likely 
to  compose  than  any  other  member  of  his  House  whose  his- 
tory is  known.  And  if  he  inscribed  his  ancestral  hall  with  his 
pen,  may  he  not  likewise  have  adorned  it  with  his  brush  ? 
Who  more  likely  to  illustrate  a  painting  than  the  painter  him- 
self ?  The  paintings  at  Pitarrow  were  executed  on  the  plas- 
tered wall ;  the  wainscoting  which  afterwards  concealed  them 
was  introduced  subsequent  to  Wishart's  period. 

Tired  of  his  prolonged  seclusion  at  Pitarrow,  Wishart  de- 
termined to  resume  his  duties  as  an  evangelist.  In  reading 
the  Scriptures  to  the  people  in  their  native  tongue,  he  had  the 
authority  of  the  State,*  and  being  in  reader's  orders,  he  pos- 
sessed as  an  instructor  the  sanction  of  the  Church.  Rent- 
ing a  house  at  Montrose,  the  "  next  unto  the  church  except 
one,"-j-  he  there  read  and  explained  the  Scriptures  to  all  who 

*  An  Act  of  the  Estates  was  proclaimed  on  the  igth  March  1543,  declaring  that 
it  should  be  lawful  for  all  men  to  read  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  in  the  mother 
tongue,  and  providing  that  "  no  man  preach  to  the  contrary  upon  pain  of  death." 

t  Knox's  History,  ed.  1846,  vol.  L,  p.  125;  Petrie's  History  of  the  Catholick 
Church,  Hague,  1662,  folio,  p.  182. 


278      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

came.  After  a  time  he  removed  to  Dundee,  where  he  pub- 
licly read  and  expounded  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  His 
prelections,  conducted  within  eleven  miles  of  the  Castle  of 
St  Andrews,  could  not  long  escape  the  notice  of  Cardinal 
Beaton,  who,  since  his  reconciliation  with  the  governor,  pos- 
sessed an  authority  nearly  absolute.  The  cardinal  might  not 
prevent  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures ;  he  might  not  close,  save 
on  a  specific  charge,  a  mouth  opened  by  the  Church.  But 
one  who  is  disposed  to  persecute  may  readily  find  excuse  to 
justify  his  interference.  Charging  Wishart  with  convoking 
the  lieges  without  the  royal  sanction,  he  procured  from  the 
queen  regent  and  the  governor  a  proclamation,  calling  on 
him  to  desist.  By  one  Robert  Mill,  a  magistrate  of  Dun- 
dee, who  had  professed  the  Reformed  doctrines,  but  had 
lately  abjured  them,  the  proclamation  was  handed  to  the 
preacher  as  he  conducted  service.  "  He  remained,"  writes 
Knox,  "  a  little  space  with  his  eyes  bent  towards  heaven,  and 
thereafter  looking  sorrowfully  to  the  speaker  and  the  people, 
said  :  God  rs  witness  that  I  never  intended  your  trouble  but 
your  comfort.  Yea,  your  trouble  is  more  dolorous  to  me 
than  it  is  to  yourselves.  But  I  am  assured  that  to  refuse 
God's  Word,  and  to  chase  from  you  His  messengers,  shall  not 
preserve  you  from  trouble,  but  it  shall  bring  you  into  it.  For 
God  shall  send  to  you  messengers  who  will  not  be  afraid  of 
horning*  nor  yet  banishment.  I  have  offered  unto  you  the 
Word  of  Salvation,  and  with  the  hazard  of  my  life  I  hare 
remained  among  you.  Now  ye  yourselves  refuse  me,  and 
therefore  must  I  leave  my  innocence  to  be  declared  by  God. 
If  it  be  long  prosperous  with  you,  I  am  not  led  by  the  Spirit  of 
Truth  ;  but  if  unlooked-for  trouble  apprehend  you,  acknow- 
ledge the  cause  and  turn  to  God,  for  He  is  merciful."  *f* 

Among  those  present  when  Mill  served  the  proclamation 
was  the  Earl  Marischal,  J  who  entreated  the  preacher  to  dis- 

*  Putting  to  the  horn,  i.e.,  being  denounced  a  rebel.     This  menace  would,  as 
matter  of  course,  be  contained  in  the  proclamation, 
t  Knox's  History,  Edin.,  1846,  vol.  i.,  pp.  125,  126. 
•f  By  Sir  Ralph  Sadler,  in  a  report  to  Henry  VIII.,  dated  27th  March  1543,  the 


MEMOIR   OF   GEORGE  WISHART.  279 

regard  it,  or  to  accompany  him  to  the  north  and  there  prose- 
cute his  ministry.  But  Wishart  had  promised  to  the  Earl  of 
Glencairn*  that  he  would  next  preach  in  Ayrshire,  and  he  pro- 
ceeded thither  at  once. 

Ayrshire  was  included  in  the  see  of  Glasgow,  and  Gavin 
Dunbar,  the  archbishop,  was  determined  to  check  in  his  dio- 
cese the  spread  of  heretical  opinions.  Informed  that  Wishart 
was  preaching  in  Ayr,  he  went  there  with  a  body  of  attend- 
ants, and  took  possession  of  the  church.  Lord  Glencairn  and 
George  Crawfurd  of  Loch  Norris,-f-  attended  by  their  vassals, 
also  proceeded  thither  to  defend  the  preacher.  But  Wishart 
discommended  violence.  He  invited  the  people  to  accompany 
him  to  the  market  cross,  where,  writes  Knox,  "  he  made  so 
notable  a  sermon  that  his  very  enemies  themselves  were  con- 
founded." Dunbar  preached  in  the  parish  church  which  he 
had  usurped.  Inexpert  in  public  teaching,  he  commended 
his  office,  and  promised  a  more  edifying  discourse  on  his 
return.  | 

Wishart  prosecuted  his  labours  chiefly  in  the  district  of 
Kyle.  For  a  time  he  occupied  the  parish  church  of  Galston, 
under  the  protection  of  John  Lockhart  of  Barr,  a  Protestant 
landowner. §  Invited  to  preach  at  Mauchline,  an  adjoining 
parish,  he  consented  ;  but  the  use  of  the  church  was  resisted 
on  the  plea  that  an  elegant  shrine  preserved  in  it  might  be 

Earl  Marischal  is  described  as  "a  goodly  young  gentleman,  well  given  to  his 
Majesty."  He  was  very  friendly  to  the  Reformation.  During  the  civil  wars  in 
the  reign  of  Queen  Mary  he  shut  himself  in  his  Castle  of  Dunottar,  and  conse- 
quently became  known  as  William  of  the  Tower.  He  died  about  the  year  1581 
(Sadler's  State  Papers,  vol.  i.,  p.  126). 

*  William  Cunningham,  fourth  Earl  of  Glencairn,  was  in  1526  appointed  Lord 
High  Treasurer.  He  early  attached  himself  to  the  Reformers,  and  bore  a  con- 
spicuous part  in  their  early  struggles  ;  he  died  in  1547.  His  son  Alexander,  fifth 
earl,  is  historically  known  as  "  the  good  earl." 

f  Now  called  Dumfries  House,  a  seat  of  the  Marquess  of  Bute. 

J  Knox's  History,  Edin.,  1846,  vol.  i. ,  p.  127. 

§  John  Lockhart  of  Barr  is,  in  a  legal  instrument  dated  Glasgow,  2oth  Novem- 
ber 1510,  nominated  procurator  and  assignee  of  Mr  Patrick  Shaw,  Vicar  of  Monk- 
town,  about  to  set  out  for  Rome.     He  is  noticed  in  the  rental  book  of  the  diocese 
of  Glasgow  in  1553  (Diocesan   Registers  of  Glasgow,   vol.   i.,  p.   151;  vol.  ii. 
p.  38l). 


280      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

injured  by  the  populace.  Among  the  opposers  were  George 
Campbell  of  Monkgarswood,  Mungo  Campbell  of  Brounside, 
and  George  Read  of  Tempilland.  At  their  instance,  Sir  Hugh 
Campbell  of  Loudoun,  sheriff  of  the  county,  prohibited  the  use 
of  the  church,  and  caused  the  doors  to  be  watched  by  a  civic 
guard.  This  procedure  was  obnoxious  to  an  influential  land- 
owner, Hew  Campbell  of  Kinzeancleugh,*  who,  with  his 
friends  and  followers,  sought  to  overpower  the  guard  and 
enter  the  edifice  by  force.  Wishart  dissuaded  Campbell  from 
exciting  public  strife.  "  Brother,"  said  he,  "  Christ  Jesus  is  as 
potent  in  the  fields  as  in  the  kirk.  He  himself  oftener 
preached  on  the  mountain,  in  the  desert,  and  at  the  seaside, 
than  in  the  temple.  God  sends  by  me  the  Word  of  Peace, 
and  the  blood  of  no  man  must  be  shed  this  day  for  the  preach- 
ing of  it."  Having  calmed  his  friend's  vehemence,  Wishart 
proceeded  to  a  meadow,  and  there  from  a  stone  fence  preached 
to  an  eager  crowd.  His  discourse  lasted  three  hours.  It  was 
attended  by  the  conversion  of  Laurence  Rankin,  the  laird  of 
Sheill,  a  man  whose  corrupt  life  had  been  notorious.^ 

Under  the  protection  of  the  Earls  of  Cassilisj  and  Glen- 
cairn,  and  others,  Wishart  had  preached  in  Ayrshire  about  four 
weeks,  when  he  was  recalled  to  Dundee.  A  terrible  epidemic 
had  broken  out  in  the  place  four  days  §  after  his  departure, 
and  his  return  was  urgently  entreated.  A  contemporary 
chronicler  informs  us  that  in  August  1545  a  fatal  pestilence 
visited  all  the  burghs  of  Scotland.  ||  In  that  month  it  is  pro- 
bable Wishart  returned  to  Dundee.  His  departure  from  Kyle 
grievecl  many  who  had  become  attached  to  his  ministry.  To 

*  Hew  Campbell  of  Kinzeancleugh  was  a  cadet  of  the  House  of  Loudoun.  His 
son,  Robert  Campbell  of  Kinzeancleugh,  was  a  zealous  friend  of  John  Knox  and 
a  devoted  promoter  of  the  Reformation. 

t  Knox's  History,  edit.  1846,  vol.  i.,  p.  128. 

J  Gilbert  Kennedy,  third  Earl  of  Cassilis,  was  taken  prisoner  at  the  battle  of 
Solway,  and  consequently  became  known  to  Henry  VIII.,  who  held  him  in  high 
esteem.  He  was  a  vigorous  upholder  of  the  Protestant  cause. 

§  Spottiswoode's  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  Edin.,  1851,  8vo,  vol.  i., 
p.  151. 

|j  Diurnal  of  Occurrents,  Maitland  Club,  p.  39. 


MEMOIR   OF   GEORGE  WISHART.  281 

their  entreaties  that  he  would  remain  among  them,  he  replied 
that  his  former  hearers  "  were  in  trouble  and  needed  comfort ;" 
he  added  :  "  Perhaps  the  hand  of  God  will  cause  them  now  to 
revere  that  Word  which  formerly,  through  fear  of  man,  they 
lightly  esteemed."* 

At  Dundee,  on  his  return,  Wishart  excited  a  deep  interest. 
Those  who  remembered  his  words  when  the  apostate  Mill 
interrupted  his  preaching,  hoped  that  the  pestilence  which 
had  followed  so  closely  his  departure  might  be  arrested  on 
his  return.  He  was  urged  to  resume  his  public  ministrations, 
but  as  those  who  attended  the  sick  or  exhibited  symptoms  of 
ailment  were  carefully  avoided,  there  was  difficulty  in  arrang- 
ing matters.  Wishart  proposed  to  preach  from  the  East  Port, 
the  sick  and  suspected  being  accommodated  without,  and 
those  in  health  within  the  walls.-f-  The  proposal  was  accepted, 
and  the  preacher  discoursed  from  the  2Oth  verse  of  the  lo/th 
Psalm  :  "  He  sent  His  Word  and  healed  them."  He  set  forth 
the  blessed  nature  of  Holy  Scripture,  and  the  comfort  which 
it  brought  to  the  bereaved.  Afflictive  dispensations,  he  re- 
marked, conduced  to  humility  and  repentance.  The  Divine 
mercy,  he  said,  was  alike  manifest  in  seasons  of  adversity 
and  sickness  as  in  times  of  prosperity  and  health.  Affliction 
was  a  great  teacher,  and  God  frequently  removed  His  friends 
from  troubles  which  were  to  come.  The  preacher  enjoined  a 
faithful  attendance  on  the  sick,  and  exhorted  that  prayer 
should  accompany  the  means  used  for  their  recovery.  The 
hearers  were  deeply  moved,  and  retired  with  expressions  of 
thankfulness,  j 

At  Dundee  Wishart  preached  frequently,  and  also  waited 
upon  the  sick.  His  proceedings  were  again  reported  to  the 
cardinal,  who  now  had  recourse  to  an  assassin.  John  Wighton, 
a  priest  belonging  to  Dundee,  undertook  to  destroy  the 

*  Knox's  History,  edit.  1846,  vol.  i.,  p.  129. 

t  At  this  time  the  town  of  Dundee  was  surrounded  by  a  double  wall,  with  ports 
or  gates,  which  were  removed  about  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  except  the 
East  Gate,  or  Cowgate  Port,  which,  out  of  respect  to  Wishart's  memory,  has  been 
preserved. 

£  Knox's  Works,  edit.  1846,  vol.  i.,  p.  130. 


282      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

preacher.  Armed  with  a  dagger,  he  entered  the  place  of  wor- 
ship in  which  Wishart  was  discoursing,  and,  concealing  him- 
self behind  the  pulpit,  waited  his  descent.  Happily,  Wishart 
remarked  his  presence,  and  before  he  had  time  to  strike, 
seized  him  fast.  "  What  would  you  do,  my  friend  ? "  said  the 
preacher,  calmly.  Dreading  instant  death,  Wighton  threw 
himself  on  his  knees  and  entreated  mercy.  The  congregation 
had  retired,  but  a  few  persons  who  remained  behind  gave 
the  alarm,  and  a  crowd  burst  upon  the  scene.  "  Let  us  smite 
the  traitor  !  "  shouted  a  multitude  of  voices.  Wishart  remarked 
that  he  was  unhurt,  and  begged  that  the  aggressor  might  be 
spared.  "  He  who  touches  him  will  trouble  me,"  he  said  ear- 
nestly. He  then  improved  the  occasion  by  pointing  out  the 
perils  which  attend  the  Christian  in  his  pilgrimage,  and  after 
duly  exhorting  his  intended  murderer,  secured  his  retreat* 

Wishart  remained  in  Dundee  till  the  pestilence  had  ceased. 
From  Lords  Cassilis  and  Glencairn  he  received  letters  inti- 
mating that  a  provincial  Synod  of  the  Church  was  to  meet  at 
Edinburgh  on  the  I3th  January,  and  promising  him  a  public 
audience  on  the  occasion.  He  was  pleased  with  this  proposal, 
and  agreeing  to  be  at  Edinburgh  in  January,  remarked  that 
having  "  finished  one  battle  he  was  ready  for  another." 
Meanwhile  he  proceeded  to  Montrose,  where  he  occasionally 
preached. 

Having  failed  to  silence  the  preacher  by  the  dagger  of  the 
assassin,  Beaton  devised  a  stratagem  for  his  arrest.  At  Mont- 
rose  Wishart  was  waited  upon  by  a  jaded  messenger,  who 
thrust  a  letter  into  his  hand.  The  letter  bore  that  his  friend 
John  Kinnear  of  Kinnear,  in  Fife,"f-  lay  dangerously  sick,  and 
desired  to  see  him  at  once.  Moved  by  affection,  Wishart 
mounted  a  led  horse  brought  by  the  messenger,  and  in  the 
company  of  a  few  friends  proceeded  on  his  journey.  Having 
passed  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  he  remarked  to  his  com- 

*  Knox's  Works,  edit.  1846,  vol.  i.,  p.  131. 

+  John  Kynnear  of  Kynnear  in  the  parish  of  Kilmany,  Fifeshire,  was,  on  the 
3oth  July  1543,  served  heir  to  his  father,  David  Kynnear  de  eodem,  in  the  lands 
and  barony  of  Kynnear  (Inq,  Spec.,  Fife,  No.  2). 


MEMOIR   OF   GEORGE  WISHART.  283 

panions  that  he  began  to  suspect  treachery.  Some  of  his 
attendants  riding  forward  discovered,  at  a  retired  and  shel- 
tered spot,  a  troop  of  about  sixty  horsemen,  evidently  wait- 
ing an  arrival.  The  preacher  and  his  friends  returned  to 
Montrose.* 

About  the  end  of  November  Wishart  proposed  to  leave 
Montrose  for  Edinburgh.  By  his  early  friend,  John  Erskine 
of  Dun,  he  was  urged  to  remain  in  retirement,  but  he  re- 
marked that  he  could  not  break  his  promise.  Having  reached 
Dundee,  he  was  from  thence  conducted  to  Invergowrie,  a 
hamlet  in  the  vicinity,  where  he  was  entertained  at  the 
house  of  James  Watson,  one  of  his  converts.  Knox  relates 
an  anecdote  in  connection  with  this  visit.  The  preacher 
rose  during  the  night,  and  proceeding  to  a  secluded  portion 
of  the  garden,  there  expressed  himself  as  if  in  pain,  and  after- 
wards knelt  down  and  engaged  in  prayer.  Two  members  of 
the  household,  who  chanced  to  be  awake,  observed  his  pro- 
cedure, and  followed  him  unseen.  Informing  him  next  morn- 
ing that  they  had  remarked  his  vigil,  they  begged  an  ex- 
planation. He  answered  that  he  believed  his  life  would  be  a 
short  one.  Knox  regards  this  occurrence  as  evidence  that 
the  preacher  was  supernaturally  informed  of  his  approaching 
martyrdom.  Such  a  view  was  not  unnatural  in  times  of 
superstition.  But  Wishart's  act  is  easily  explained.  He 
evidently  suffered  from  an  imperfect  circulation,  which,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  Scottish  poet,  Robert  Burns,  induced  at  night 
strong  fever,  or  unnatural  warmth.  Tylney  relates  that  at 
Cambridge  he  had  "commonly  by  his  bedside  a  tub  of  water, 
in  the  which,  his  people  being  in  bed,  the  candle  put  out, 
and  all  quiet,  he  used  to  bathe  himself."  It  was,  doubtless, 
while  suffering  from  a  feverish  attack  to  which  he  was  sub- 
ject that  he  sought  relief  in  the  coolness  of  the  garden. 
These  attacks  becoming  probably  more  frequent  and  severe, 
led  him  to  say  to  those  who  rashly  questioned  him,  that  he 
feared  his  life  would  not  be  prolonged. 

From  Invergowrie  Wishart  proceeded  to  Perth,  then  desig- 

*  Knox's  History,  ed.  1846,  vol.  i.,  p.  132. 


284      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

nated  St  Johnstone.  He  adopted  this  circuitous  route  to 
Edinburgh  in  order  to  avoid  the  nearer  but  more  danger- 
ous road  through  the  eastern  district  of  Fife,  where  the  car- 
dinal maintained  a  nearly  absolute  jurisdiction.  Travelling 
from  Perth  by  way  of  Kinross,  he  reached  the  ferry  at  King- 
horn,  and  thence  crossed  the  Forth  to  Leith,  the  port  of 
Edinburgh.  It  was  the  beginning  of  December,  and  he  ex- 
pected that  the  Earls  of  Cassilis  and  Glencairn  would  be 
in  the  capital  awaiting  his  arrival.  As  they  had  not  come, 
he  was  by  friendly  persons  advised  to  remain  in  tempor- 
ary concealment.  He  acquiesced,  but  soon  complained  of 
the  restraint.  "  Wherein  do  I  differ  from  one  dead,"  he 
exclaimed,  "  except  that  I  eat  and  drink  ?  Hitherto  God 
has  accepted  my  labours  for  the  instruction  of  the  ignor- 
ant and  the  exposure  of  error.  Now  I  lurk  in  secret  as  one 
who  is  ashamed."  Entreating  that  he  might  be  permitted  to 
resume  his  ministry,  arrangements  were  made  accordingly. 
On  the  second  Sunday  of  December  he  preached  at  Leith, 
selecting  as  his  subject  the  Parable  of  the  Sower.  The  bold- 
ness of  his  teaching  increased  the  alarm  of  his  friends,  who, 
believing  a  report  that  the  governor  and  the  cardinal  were 
to  be  in  Edinburgh  shortly,  begged  that  he  would  quit  so 
dangerous  a  vicinity.* 

At  this  period  Wishart  was  introduced  to  three  conspicuous 
opponents  of  the  Romish  Church,  Alexander  Crichton  of 
Brunstone,  Hugh  Douglas  of  Longniddry,  and  John  Cock- 
burn  of  Ormiston.  Subsequent  to  his  public  appearance  at 
Leith,  these  persons  entertained  him  at  their  houses,  and 
instituted  arrangements  for  his  safety.  Intimately  asso- 
ciated with  him,  as  they  became,  during  the  last  and  most 
eventful  period  of  his  ministry,  they  severally  claim  par- 
ticular notice.  Crichton  of  Brunstone  had  hitherto  been 
a  supporter  of  the  Reformed  cause,  rather  from  hostility 
to  Beaton  than  from  any  absolute  conviction.  His  policy 
had  been  singularly  vacillating.  In  1539  he  was,  as  one 
of  his  confidential  friends,  despatched  by  Cardinal  Beaton 
*  Knox's  History,  ed.  1846,  vol.  i.,  p.  134. 


MEMOIR   OF   GEORGE  WISHART.  285 

with  letters  to  the  court  of  Rome.  Having  quarrelled  with  the 
cardinal,  he  attached  himself  to  Arran,*  who  employed  him 
on  diplomatic  missions  to  France  and  England.-}-  But  re- 
nouncing the  governor's  favour,  he  made  himself  known  to 
Sir  Ralph  Sadler,  through  whom  he  was  recommended  to  the 
English  court.  The  history  of  his  negotiations  with  Henry 
VIII.  for  the  destruction  of  the  cardinal  will  be  detailed  after- 
wards. But  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that  subsequent  to  his 
intercourse  with  Wishart  his  name  no  longer  appears  on  the 
list  of  conspirators.  His  latter  history  may  be  related  briefly. 
In  1548  he  was  forfeited  and  escaped  from  Scotland.  He 
died  before  the  5th  December  1558,  as  on  that  day  the  pro- 
cess of  forfeiture  against  him  was  reduced  by  the  Scottish 
Parliament  at  the  instance  of  John  Crichton,  who  is  described 
as  "  eldest  lawful  son  and  heir  of  umquhile  Alexander  Creich- 
ton  of  Brunstane."  J 

Hugh  Douglas  of  Longniddry  was  a  man  of  firm  principle 
and  strong  faith.  A  scion  of  the  House  of  Douglas  of  Dal- 
keith,  he  was  an  early  promoter  of  the  Reformed  doctrines. 
Under  his  roof  John  Knox,  after  renouncing  his  priestly  office 
at  Haddington,  obtained  employment  and  shelter  as  tutor  to 
his  sons,  Francis  and  George.  §  Knox  had  resided  with  Douglas 
about  eighteen  months  prior  to  Wishart's  visit,  and  it  is  pro- 
bable that  his  recommendation  of  the  stranger  tended  towards 
his  favourable  reception  by  the  Reformers  of  Haddington- 
shire.  Of  the  personal  history  of  Hugh  Douglas,  apart  from 
his  support  of  Knox  and  Wishart,  not  much  is  known.  His 

*  Sadler's  State  Papers,  pp.  25,  185,  280. 

•f*  On  the  8th  November  1545,  there  was  paid  "  be  my  Lord  Gouernouis  speciall 
command  to  the  Laird  of  Brounstoun  in  support  of  his  expenses  maid  in  tyme  of 
his  being  in  Ingland  lauborand  for  redres  of  certane  Scottis  schippis  tane  be  the 
Inglische  men,  &c.,  44  lib."  (Treasurers'  Accounts). 

J  Acta  Parl.  Scot.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  520. 

§  John  Knox  was  born  at  Haddington  and  educated  under  the  learned  Mair  at 
the  University  of  Glasgow.  In  the  protocol  books  of  Haddington  his  name  occurs 
in  1540,  1541,  and  1542,  under  the  style  of  "  Schir  John  Knox,"  the  designation  of 
priests  who  had  not  attained  the  academical  rank  of  master.  A  notarial  instru- 
ment of  assignment,  dated  27th  March  1543,  bears  his  subscription  as  "  Minister 
of  the  sacred  altar  and  apostolic  notary." 


286      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

son,  Francis  Douglas  of  Longniddry,  in  a  deed  of  ratification, 
dated  iQth  April  1567,  is  named  as  third  in  the  line  of  succes- 
sion to  James,  Earl  of  Morton,  failing  his  male  issue.*  By 
Sir  George  Douglas,  a  descendant  of  the  House,  that  portion 
of  the  lands  of  Longniddry  which  belonged  to  his  family  was, 
in  1650,  sold  to  the  Earl  ofWinton,  who  also  acquired  the 
other  portion.  The  estates  of  the  Earl  ofWinton,  having  been 
forfeited  in  1715,  were  purchased  by  the  York  Building  Com- 
pany, by  whom  they  were  sold  in  1779  to  John  Glassel,  a 
surgeon,  who  acquired  a  fortune  by  trading  in  Virginia.  His 
only  child  became  Duchess  of  Argyll.  By  her  son,  the  pre- 
sent Duke  of  Argyll,  the  lands  of  Longniddry  were  sold  to 
the  Earl  of  Wemyss,  who  guards  with  pious  care  an  aged  tree 
under  which  Knox  preached.  A  circular  mound  covers  the 
foundations  of  the  ancient  mansion. 

John  Cockburn  of  Ormiston,  another  upholder  of  Wishart's 
ministry,  was  descended  from  the  ancient  House  of  Cockburn 
of  that  ilk,  and  was  hereditary  Constable  of  Haddington. 
One  of  Knox's  earlier  converts,  he  remained  through  life  his 
attached  and  earnest  friend.  Chiefly  on  account  of  the  sup- 
port which  he  extended  to  Wishart  he  sustained  severe  perse- 
cution. By  the  Regent  Arran  and  Archbishop  Hamilton  of 
St  Andrews,  he  was,  in  1548,  forfeited  and  banished  ;  but  he 
obtained  his  freedom  by  consenting  to  underlie  the  law.  Knox, 
when  detained  in  France,  transmitted  to  his  care  Balnaves' 
"  Treatise  on  Justification,"  which  was  found  at  Longniddry 
long  afterwards.-f  In  October  1559  he  received  at  Berwick, 
from  Sir  Ralph  Sadler  and  Sir  James  Crofts,  .£1000  sterling  for 
the  benefit  of  the  poor  who  professed  the  Reformed  faith: 
also,  two  hundred  crowns  (£63,  6s.  8d.)  for  his  own  use.  Of 
the  entire  treasure  he  was  deprived  by  the  Earl  of  Bothwell 
and  his  retainers  on  his  homeward  journey.  Cockburn's  wife, 
Alison,  daughter  of  Sir  James  Sandilands  of  Calder,  was  also 
a  zealous  supporter  of  the  Reformed  doctrines. 

Under  the  protection  of  these  three  landowners,  Wishart  con- 

*  Acta  Parl.  Scot.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  546. 

t  Three  Scottish  Reformers,  Eilin.,  1874,  p.  20. 


MEMOIR   OF   GEORGE  WISHART.  287 

ducted  Divine  service  in  the  parish  church  of  Inveresk,  near 
Musselburgh,  both  in  the  morning  and  afternoon  of  the  Sun- 
day succeeding  that  on  which  he  had  preached  at  Leith.  In 
connection  with  these  services,  Knox  relates  two  incidents. 
As  the  people  assembled  for  worship,  two  friars  from  the 
chapel  of  Loretto,  at  Musselburgh,*  stood  at  the  entrance  of 
the  church  and  whispered  to  those  who  entered.  Remark- 
ing their  procedure,  Wishart  invited  them  to  enter.  "  Come 
in,"  he  said,  "  and  you  shall  hear  the  Word  of  Truth,  which, 
according  as  you  receive  it,  will  prove  to  you  a  savour  of  life 
or  of  death."  The  friars  still  lingered  at  the  door,  and  as  the 
preacher  denounced  idolatrous  worship,  they  again  sought  to 
divert  the  attention  of  those  who  stood  near.  Turning  to- 
wards the  scoffers,  he  exclaimed,  "  How  long  will  you  dare 
to  deceive  men's  souls  ?  You  reject  the  truth  yourselves, 
and  would  prevent  others  from  embracing  it.  God  will  surely 
expose  your  hypocrisy  and  confound  your  malice."'f 

The  other  incident  was  of  a  more  hopeful  character.  At 
the  close  of  the  afternoon's  service,  Sir  George  Douglas,  brother 
of  the  Earl  of  Angus,  stood  up,  and,  in  the  hearing  of  the  con- 
gregation, said,  "  I  know  that  my  Lord  Governor  and  the 
cardinal  will  hear  that  I  have  been  present  at  these  services. 
I  shall  make  no  denial,  and  I  will  fearlessly  defend  the  preacher 
and  uphold  his  doctrines."  j 

*  Knox  describes  the  loungers  as  two  Grey  Friars.  The  members  of  the  chapel 
of  Loretto  were  so  designated,  though  not  strictly  entitled  to  the  appellative. 
The  chapel  at  Loretto,  or  Alareit,  near  Musselburgh,  was  founded  in  1533, 
by  Thomas  Douchtie,  and  by  him  dedicated  to  the  Virgin.  Within  the  building, 
Douchtie  and  his  successors  professed  to  work  miracles.  In  1536,  James  V. 
made  a  pilgrimage  to  the  chapel  from  Stirling,  after  being  driven  back  by  a  storm 
on  his  first  voyage  to  France  to  bring  home  his  queen.  A  political  pasquinade,  at  the 
expense  of  Douchtie  and  his  brethren,  the  Grey  Friars,  was  composed  by  Alexander 
Cunningham,  fifth  Earl  of  Glencairn.  In  this  composition  he  names  a  Friar 
Laing,  who,  very  probably,  was  one  of  those  associated  with  the  incident  at 
Inveresk  (Three  Scottish  Reformers,  pp.  12-16). 

t  Knox's  History,  edit.  1846,  vol.  i.,  p.  135. 

i  Sir  George  Douglas  of  Pittendreich  was  an  especial  favourite  of  Henry 
VIII.  In  his  society,  when  acting  as  one  of  the  Scottish  Commissioners,  Wishart 
returned  to  Scotland.  Appointed  a  Privy  Councillor  in  March  1543,  he  was 
forfeited  by  the  Catholic  party  for  alleged  treason,  but  was  assoilzied  in  Decem- 


288      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

As  the  governor  and  cardinal  were  now  in  Edinburgh,  only 
a  few  miles  distant,  Wishart  was,  for  greater  safety,  conducted 
to  the  mansion  of  Longniddry.  There  he  had  an  opportunity 
of  communing  with  Knox,  who,  deeply  interested  in  his  mis- 
sionary labours,  became  his  companion  from  place  to  place, 
armed  with  a  two-handed  sword.* 

The  mansion  of  Longniddry  was  situated  in  the  parish  of 
Gladsmuir,  within  four  miles  of  the  considerable  village  of 
Tranent.  At  Tranent  Wishart  preached  to  large  assemblies 
on  two  consecutive  Sundays.  Attended  by  Knox,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  the  town  of  Haddington  on  the  I4th  January  1545-6. 
There  he  was  entertained  by  David  Forrest,  a  respectable 
burgess  who  had  embraced  the  Reformed  doctrines.  In 
dread  of  persecution,  Forrest  afterwards  sought  shelter  in 
England."]*  He  was,  by  the  General  Assembly  of  December 
1560,  nominated  as  one  "apt  and  able  to  minister;"  but 
though  the  request  that  he  would  enter  the  ministry  was  more 
than  once  renewed,  he  preferred  to  remain  a  layman.  Latterly 
he  was  appointed  General  of  the  Mint.  J 

Wishart  preached  at  Haddington  two  days  in  succession. 
Knox  expected  he  would  have  large  audiences,  but  was  dis- 
appointed. At  the  first  morning  service  a  considerable  num- 
ber were  present,  but  at  the  afternoon  service,  and  the  morn- 
ing service  of  the  second  day,  the  attendance  was  "  slender." 
The  people,  it  was  found,  were  unwilling  to  offend  the  Earl 
of  Bothwell,  who  held  lands  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  was 
known  to  be  in  alliance  with  the  cardinal.  At  the  close  of 
the  first  day's  service,  Wishart  was  entertained  at  the  seat 
of  Sir  Richard  Maitland  of  Lethington,  father  of  William 
Maitland,  the  well-known  statesman.  Sir  Richard  was  an 
industrious  scholar,  and  without  committing  himself  to  the 

her  1544.  He  was  constituted  an  Extraordinary  Lord  of  Session  in  1549.  David, 
his  eldest  son,  became  seventh  Earl  of  Angus ;  and  his  second  son,  James,  was 
Earl  of  Morton  and  Regent  of  Scotland  (Hay's  Senators  of  the  College  of  Jus- 
tice, Edin.,  1832,  p.  94). 

*  Knox's  History,  edit.  1846,  vol.  i.,  p.  136. 

t  Sadler's  Letters,  vol.  i.,  p.  585. 

J  Knox's  Works,  edit.  1846,  vol.  i.,  p.  563,  note  by  Mr  David  Laing. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  289 

new  opinions,  was  favourable  to  inquiry.*  As  on  the  second 
morning  he  was  making  preparations  for  service,  Wishart 
received  a  letter  from  the  Lords  Cassilis  and  Glencairn,  in- 
timating that  they  were  unable  to  meet  him  at  Edinburgh. 
Apprehending  that  they  had  become  indifferent  to  the 
Reformed  cause,  he  was  deeply  moved,  and  remarked 
"  that  he  was  weary  of  the  world  since  men  were  weary  of 
God."  Unable  to  afford  him  any  substantial  comfort,  Knox 
begged  that  he  would  not  disqualify  himself  for  present 
duties. 

After  walking  about  half-an-hour  before  the  high  altar, 
Wishart  ascended  the  pulpit.  Perceiving  that  few  were  pre- 
sent, he  said,  "  Lord,  how  long  shall  it  be  that  Thy  healing 
Word  shall  be  despised,  and  men  shall  not  regard  their  own 
salvation  ?  I  have  heard  of  thee,  O  Haddington !  that  thou 
would'st  send  to  the  foolish  Clerk  Plays  two  or  three  thousand 
persons  ;  but  of  those  in  thy  town  and  parish,  not  one  hundred 
will  assemble  to  hear  the  message  of  the  eternal  God."  After 
some  severe  and  pointed  warnings,  he  proceeded  with  an  ex- 
position of  the  Second  Table  of  the  Law,  and  an  exhortation 
to  patience.^  It  had  been  arranged  that  Wishart  should,  in 
the  evening,  repair  to  Ormiston,  the  seat  of  his  friend  Cock- 
burn.  Before  leaving  Haddington  he  had  a  solemn  parting 
with  Douglas  of  Longniddry,  and  John  Knox.  As  Knox 
expressed  a  desire  to  continue  his  attendant,  he  strictly  forbade 
him.  Relieving  him  of  his  two-handed  sword,  he  said  to  him, 
"  Return  to  your  bairns, £  and  God  bless  you  :  one  is  sufficient 
for  a  sacrifice."  .The  Reformers  did  not  again  meet.  In  his 
journey  to  Ormiston,  Wishart  was  accompanied  by  John 
Cockburn,  his  host ;  John  Sandilands,  younger  of  Calder, 


*  Sir  Richard  Maitland  of  Lethington  held  office  under  James  V.,  Mary  of 
Guise,  Queen  Mary,  and  James  VI.  He  was  knighted  in  1551  on  being  appointed 
an  Extraordinary  Lord  of  Session.  His  "  Collection  of  Early  Scottish  Poetry  "  is 
a  work  of  great  value.  Poems  of  his  own  composition  are  printed  by  the  Mait- 
land Club.  He  died  on  the  aoth  March  1586  at  the  age  of  ninety. 

t  Knox's  History,  edit.  1846,  vol.  i.,  pp.  136-138. 

I  Children  or  pupils. 


290      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Cockburn's  brother-in-law ; *  and  Crichton of  Brunstone.-f-  Hav- 
ing reached  Ormiston,  the  friends  supped  together  ;  and  there- 
after Wishart  discoursed  respecting  the  death  of  God's  chosen 
servants,  concluding  the  evening's  devotions  by  singing  a  metri- 
cal version  of  the  $ist  Psalm,  j  Wishing  his  friends  refresh- 
ing rest,  he  retired  to  his  apartment. 

The  Provincial  Synod  met  at  Edinburgh  on  the  I3th  Janu- 
ary, but  Beaton  at  once  adjourned  it  till  after  Easter,  promis- 
ing to  those  assembled,  that  in  the  interval  he  would  put  to 
silence  a  heretic  who  was  giving  him  much  concern  by  dis- 
turbing the  Church.  Obtaining  the  co-operation  of  the  Earl  of 
Bothwell,  as  Sheriff  of  Haddingtonshire,  he  accompanied  that 
nobleman  to  Elphinstone  Tower  at  the  head  of  five  hundred 
men.§  The  preacher's  arrival  at  Ormiston  being  duly  re- 
ported, Bothwell  resolved  to  gratify  the  cardinal  by  effecting 
his  capture.  At  midnight  the  house  of  Ormiston  was  sur- 
rounded by  troops,  while  Cockburn  and  his  guests  were 
summoned  to  a  surrender.  To  Cockburn,  Bothwell  volunteered 
the  promise,  that  should  Wishart  be  delivered  into  his  hands, 
he  would  become  personal  surety  for  his  safety,  even  against 
the  power  of  the  cardinal  himself. 

Informed  that  he  was  sought  for,  WTishart  said  meekly, 
"  Let  the  will  of  the  Lord  be  done."  He  addressed  Bothwell 
in  these  words  :  "  I  thank  God  that  one  so  honourable  as  your 
lordship  receives  me  this  night,  being  assured  that,  having 

*  John  Sandilands  was  elder  of  the  two  sons  of  Sir  James  Sandilands  of  Calder. 
His  younger  brother  was  created  Lord  Torphichen.  Knox  resided  in  Calder 
House  after  his  return  to  Scotland  in  1555. 

t  Knox  relates  that  on  account  of  the  keen  frost,  and  the  imperfect  condition  of 
the  roads,  the  journey  from  Haddington  to  Ormiston  was  performed  on  foot.  The 
distance  was  about  six  miles. 

J  Knox  quotes  the  two  opening  lines  : 

"  Have  mercy  on  me  now,  good  Lord, 
After  thy  great  mercy,"  etc. 

A  paraphrase  of  the  psalm  commencing  with  these  lines  is  contained  in  the  "  Gude 
and  Godlie  Ballates, "  edited  or  composed  by  John  and  Robert  Wedderburn,  who 
were  living  at  Dundee  about  the  year  1540. 
§  Diurnal  of  Occurrents,  p.  41. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  291 

pledged  your  honour,  you  will  preserve  me  from  injury  with- 
out order  of  law.  The  law,  I  am  not  ignorant,  is  corrupt,  and 
is  used  as  a  cloak  under  which  to  shed  blood  ;  but  I  less  fear 
to  die  openly  than  to  be  slain  in  secret."  "  Not  only,"  replied 
Bothwell,  "  shall  I  protect  you  from  secret  violence,  but  I  shall 
shelter  you  from  the  designs  both  of  the  governor  and  car- 
dinal. In  my  keeping  you  shall  be  secure  till  I  restore  you  to 
freedom  or  bring  you  again  to  this  place."  Accepting  this 
engagement,  Cockburn  offered  the  earl  his  bond  of  manrent 
in  token  of  service. 

Bothwell  bore  Wishart  to  Elphinstone  Tower.  Having 
secured  so  important  a  prisoner,  the  cardinal  despatched  to 
Ormiston  James  Hamilton  of  Stonehouse,  Captain  of  Edin- 
burgh Castle,  to  arrest  the  persons  of  John  Cockburn,  John 
Sandilands,  and  Crichton  of  Brunstone.  Cockburn  and  Sandi- 
lands  invited  Hamilton  and  his  followers  to  refreshment,  and 
in  the  interval  Crichton  contrived  to  escape.  Of  the  pri- 
soners of  the  night,  Wishart  was  confined  in  Elphinstone 
Tower,  and  Cockburn  and  Sandilands  were  sent  to  Edinburgh 
Castle.* 

Ormiston  House,  where  Wishart  was  captured,  and  which 
he  is  believed  to  have  visited  in  the  course  of  his  previous 
ministrations,  is  now  a  ruin.  Of  the  structure,  a  gable  wall 
and  some  vaults  only  remain.  Adjoining  the  gable  is  a 
flower-garden,  containing  a  venerable  yew,  under  which 
Wishart  is  said  to  have  preached.  The  yew  is  of  a  remark- 
able size,  the  stem  extending  to  a  girth  of  seventeen  feet  and 
reaching  a  height  of  thirty-three.  Within  the  adjoining  chapel 
a  monumental  brass  commemorates  Alexander,  eldest  son  of 
John  Cockburn,  Wishart's  host — a  favourite  pupil  of  Knox. 
A  youth  of  high  promise,  he  died  in  August  1564,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-nine.  His  epitaph,  composed  by  Buchanan, 
proceeds  thus  : 

"  Omnia  quse  longa  indulget  mortalibus  setas, 
Hsec  tibi  Alexander,  prima  juventa  dedit, 

*  Knox's  History,  edit.  1846,  vol.  i.,  pp.  141,  142. 


292      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Cum  genere  et  forma  generoso  sanguine  digna  ; 

Ingenium  velox,  ingenuumque  animum. 
Excoluit  virtus  animum,  ingeniumque  camenae 

Successu  studio  consilioque  pari ; 
His  ducibus  primum  peragrata  Britannia  deinde ; 

Gallia  ad  armiferos  qua  patet  Helvetios  ; 
Doctus  ibi  linguas  quas  Roma,  Sion,  et  Athense, 

Quas  cum  Germano  Gallia  docta  sonat 
Te  licet  in  prima  rapuerunt  fata  juventa  : 

Non  immaturo  funere  raptus  obis, 
Omnibus  officiis  vitae  qui  functus  obivit 
Non  fas  hunc  vitae  est  de  brevitate  queri. 

Hie  conditur  Mr  Alexander  Cockburn 
primogenitus  Joannis  domini  Ormiston 
et  Alisonse  Sandilands,  ex  preclara 
familia  Calder,  qui  natus  13  Januarii  1535 
Post  insignem  linguarum  professionem ; 
Obiit  anno  astatis  suae  28  calen.  Sept*. " 

Sir  John  Cockburn,  a  younger  brother  of  Knox's  pupil, 
became  a  Lord  of  Session,  and  died  in  1623.  Other  represen- 
tatives of  the  family  were  distinguished  as  lawyers  and  states- 
men. The  barony  of  Ormiston  now  belongs  to  the  Earl  of 
Hopetoun. 

From  his  confinement  in  Edinburgh  Castle  John  Sandilands 
was  liberated  on  granting  the  cardinal  his  bond  of  manrent* 
Cockburn  escaped  by  scaling  the  wall.  In  the  Treasurer's 
book  it  appears  that,  on  the  loth  March  1546,  John  Paterson, 
pursuivant,  received  a  fee  of  ten  shillings  for  arresting  "  the 
gudes  "  of  the  Laird  of  Ormiston,  and  summoning  him  "  to  un- 
derly  the  law"  at  Edinburgh  on  the  I3th  April,  "for  resetting 
of  Maister  George  Wishart,  he  being  at  the  home  ; "  also 
"  for  breking  of  the  waird  within  the  castell  of  Edinburgh." 

As  an  important  prisoner,  Wishart  was  strictly  guarded. 
Elphinstone  Tower,  his  first  prison,  still  remains  a  memorial 
alike  of  feudal  dignity  and  ecclesiastical  oppression.  An 
oblong  square  keep,  fifty-nine  feet  in  length,  it  rises  to  a  height 
of  about  eighty  feet.  The  walls  are  from  seven  to  twelve 
feet  thick,  and  the  several  floors  are  supported  on  powerful 
arches.  In  the  basement  are  the  kitchen  and  servants'  hall — 

*  Knox's  History,  edit.  1846,  vol.  i.,  p.  142. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  293 

the  baron's  hall  occupies  the  second  floor,  and  the  third  contains 
two  large  sleeping-apartments  and  other  chambers.  Passages 
are  constructed  within  the  walls,  to  which  light  is  admitted  by 
arrow-slit  windows.  This  keep  was  reared  in  the  thirteenth 
century  by  John  de  Elphinstone,  who  owned  the  adjoining 
lands.  In  Wishart's  time  it  belonged  to  a  descendant  of 
Johnstone  of  that  ilk.  John  Ker,  minister  of  Prestonpans, 
and  stepson  of  John  Knox,  married  a  daughter  of  John  John- 
stone  of  Elphinstone.  After  several  changes  the  tower  and 
lands  were  acquired  by  an  ancestor  of  the  present  Baron 
Elphinstone.  Wishart  was  immured  in  a  narrow  chamber 
on  the  basement  floor.  His  first  jailer,  Patrick,  Earl  of  Both- 
well,  was  only  less  cruel,  crafty,  and  unscrupulous  than  his 
more  notorious  son,  the  murderer  of  Darnley.  Succeeding 
to  the  earldom  in  early  life,  he  proved  so  obnoxious  to  public 
order,  that  James  V.,  after  twice  subjecting  him  to  imprison- 
ment, deprived  him  of  his  lands  in  Liddesdale,  and  banished 
him  from  the  kingdom.  In  England  he  engaged  in  treason- 
able negotiations  with  Henry  VIII.  Returning  to  Scotland 
on  the  death  of  James  V.,  he  attached  himself  to  Beaton.  Sir 
Ralph  Sadler,  in  May  1543,  describes  him  as  "the  most  vain 
and  insolent  man  in  the  world,  full  of  pride  and  folly."  * 
Imprisoned  for  disorderly  practices,  he  was  liberated,  after 
the  battle  of  Pinkie,  in  September  1547.  He  latterly  obtained 
shelter  at  the  court  of  Edward  VI.,  and  in  1556  closed  in 
exile  a  life  of  shame. 

Bothwell's  promise  to  protect  his  prisoner  from  the  ven- 
geance of  his  adversaries  was  soon  exchanged  for  another  of 
a  very  opposite  character.  Wishart  was  made  prisoner  on 
the  1 6th  January,-f-  and,  on  the  iQth  of  the  same  month, 
Bothwell,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Privy  Council,  pledged  him- 
self to  deliver  his  prisoner  to  the  order  of  the  governor. 
The  proceedings  of  the  council  are  recorded  in  these 
words  :  J 

*  Sadler's  State  Papers,  vol.  i.,  p.  184. 
f  Diurnal  of  Occurrents,  p.  41. 
t  Reg.  Sec.  Cone.,  fol.  25. 


294      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

"  Apud  Edinburgh  presente  domino    gubernatore    xix°  Januarii 

anno  Domini  millesimo  vc  xlv10.     Sederunt  Cardinalis  can- 

cellarius,    Episcopus    Candide    Case,     Comes    Bothuel — 

Abbates  paslay  culros,  dominus  Borthuik,  Clericus  Registri. 

"  The  quhilk  day  in  presens  of  my  Lord  Gouernour  and  Lordis 

of  Counsel,  Comperit  Patrik  Erie   bothuel — and   hes  bundin  and 

oblist  him  to  deliuer  Maister  george  Wischart  to  my  Lord  Gouernour 

or  ony  vtheris  in  his  behalff,  quham  he  will  depute  to  ressaue  him 

betuix  this  and  the  penult  day  of  Januar  instant  inclusive,  and  sail 

kepe  surelie  and  ansuer  for  him  in  the  meyntyme  vnder  all  the  hiest 

pane  and  chairge  that  he  may  incur  giff  he  falzies  herintill." 

Between  his  two  promises  Bothwell  halted  in  a  manner 
befitting  his  unstable  and  treacherous  character.  He  con- 
veyed his  prisoner  to  Edinburgh  ;  then,  as  if  unwilling  to 
violate  his  engagement,  brought  him  back  to  Haddington- 
shire,  and  placed  him  in  his  castle  of  Hailes.*  There  he 
proposed  to  hold  him  fast,  but  the  queen  regent  promised 
to  renew  her  favour,  which  had  been  withdrawn,  and  the  car- 
dinal offered  money  if  he  would  place  his  prisoner  in  Edin- 
burgh Castle.  Bothwell  at  length  complied.^ 

At  Edinburgh  Castle  Wishart  was  kept  a  few  days  only. 
With  the  governor's  sanction,  he  was  removed  by  the  cardinal 
to  his  castle  of  St  Andrews,  and  there  confined  in  the  sea- 
tower.  This  terrible  memorial  of  priestly  tyranny  remains 
entire.  Situated  at  the  north-west  corner  of  the  spacious 
quadrangle,  which  was  enclosed  by  the  other  buildings  of  the 
stronghold,  the  walls  of  the  sea-tower  are  of  enormous  thick- 
ness. Within  is  an  arched  chamber,  about  thirteen  feet 
square.  From  the  centre,  pierced  in  the  solid  rock,  a  circular 
vault  descends  to  a  depth  of  twenty-seven  feet,  the  upper 
diameter  being  seven,  and  the  lower  seventeen  feet.  In  this 
loathsome  pit  were  confined  those  who  dared  to  oppose  the 
canon  law  or  resist  the  authority  of  the  Church.  Here  John 
Roger,  a  black  friar,  was  immured  before  his  secret  murder 

*  Hailes  Castle  occupies  a  retired  spot  on  the  banks  of  the  Tyne,  in  the  parish 
of  Prestonkirk.  It  is  now  a  ruin. 

t  Knox's  History,  ed.  1846,  vol.  i.,  p.  143. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  295 

in  1544;  and  here  George  Wishart  languished  four  weeks. 
Closely  identified  with  the  preacher's  last  days,  the  castle  of 
St  Andrews  claims  further  notice.  Reared  in  1200  by  Roger, 
Bishop  of  St  Andrews,  as  his  episcopal  residence,  it  frequently 
changed  hands  during  the  War  of  Independence.  Within  it 
James  I.  received  from  Bishop  Wardlaw  his  early  education, 
James  II.  took  counsel  with  the  ingenious  Bishop  Kennedy, 
and  James  III.  is  supposed  to  have  been  born.  During  the 
primacy  of  Cardinal  Beaton  the  castle  was  fitted  to  endure  a 
siege. 

Though  Wishart  was  a  prisoner  in  his  castle,  the  cardinal 
encountered  some  difficulties  in  effecting  his  death.  Friar 
John  Roger  had  been  secretly  removed  from  the  dungeon, 
and  thrust  headlong  from  the  rock.*  But  George  Wishart, 
as  the  scion  of  an  ancient  house,  and  an  associate  of  several 
of  the  nobility,  might  not  be  summarily  disposed  of.  The 
Church  might  condemn,  but  a  fatal  sentence  could  only  be 
carried  out  on  the  authority  of  the  governor.  To  the  governor 
"Beaton  applied,  desiring  him  to  appoint  a  commission,  with 
a  criminal  judge,  to  conduct  the  business  of  the  trial. 
Unwilling  to  offend  his  powerful  rival,  Arran  would  have 
granted  this  request,  but  for  the  vigorous  remonstrance  of 
Sir  David  Hamilton  of  Preston,  who  pointed  to  the  cardinal's 
ambition,  and  the  unwarrantable  character  of  his  demand. 
Arran,  accordingly,  refused  the  commission,  and  expressed 
his  desire  that  in  the  meantime  all  proceedings  should  be 
stopped.f 

The  cardinal  had  to  encounter  another  difficulty.  Gavin 
Dunbar,  Archbishop  of  Glasgow,  he  well  knew,  regarded  him 
with  dislike,  consequent  on  an  extraordinary  quarrel  which 
had  occurred  between  them  eight  months  before.  The  cir- 
cumstances of  this  dispute  are  peculiarly  illustrative  of  that 
spirit  of  intolerance  in  Scottish  churchmen  which,  with  other 
errors,  George  Wishart  condemned  in  his  prelections  and  by 
his  example.  The  cardinal  happened  to  be  in  Glasgow  when, 

*  Knox's  History,  ed.  1846,  vol.  i.,  p.  119. 

t  Lindsay  of  Pitscottie's  History  of  Scotland,  Edin.,  1727,  folio,  p.  188. 


296      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

on  the  4th  June  1545,  the  Sieur  Gabriel  de  Montgomery* 
arrived  from  France  with  auxiliary  troops.  In  honour  of  the 
occasion  a  solemn  procession  was  arranged  in  the  cathedral 
church.  As  cardinal,  legatus  natus,  and  primate,  Beaton 
asserted  the  right  of  precedence,  while  Dunbar  argued  that  as 
archbishop  of  the  diocese  he  was  entitled  to  the  priority.  The 
quarrel  was  taken  up  by  the  cross-bearers  of  the  rival  prelates, 
who,  at  the  door  of  the  choir,  engaged  in  open  conflict.  Both 
crosses  were  thrown  down,  and  the  vestments  of  the  bel- 
ligerents were  torn  and  scattered.  This  quarrel  between  the 
cardinal  and  the  archbishop,  was,  according  to  Knox,  "judged 
mortal  and  without  any  hope  of  reconciliation."^ 

Had  Archbishop  Dunbar  refused  to  attend  the  proposed 
convention  at  St  Andrews,  the  cardinal  might  have  failed  to 
effect  his  purpose.  He  was,  however,  keenly  desirous  of 
upholding  the  Church  by  the  destruction  of  heretics,  and 
so,  laying  aside  private  feeling,  he  consented  to  take  part  in 
the  approaching  trial. 

By  the  cardinal  the  bishops  were  invited  to  meet  in  his 
cathedral  on  the  28th  of  February.  The  day  before,  John 
Winram,  the  sub-prior,  visited  the  prisoner  and  summoned  him 
to  his  trial.  "  It  is,"  said  the  preacher,  "  useless  for  the  car- 
dinal to  summon  one  to  attend  his  court  who  is  wholly  in  his 
power.  But  observe  your  forms." 

On  the  morning  of  the  trial  the  bishops  were  ushered  into 
the  cathedral  by  the  cardinal's  retainers.  An  armed  party 
fetched  the  prisoner,  who,  on  entering  the  gate  of  the  cathe- 
dral, threw  his  purse  to  a  beggar,  remarking  that  it  would  no 

*  James  Montgomery  de  Lorges  succeeded,  in  1545,  John  Stuart,  Count 
D'Aubigny,  as  captain  of  the  Scottish  guard  in  France.  He  died  in  1560. 
Gabriel,  his  eldest  son,  mentioned  in  the  text,  obtained  a  painful  notoriety  from 
having  mortally  wounded  in  a  tournament  Henry  II.  of  France,  in  June  1559. 
He  retired  to  Normandy,  and  afterwards  visited  Italy  and  England.  Subsequent 
to  1562  he  acted  as  a  commander  of  the  Protestant  party  in  the  religious  wars  of 
France.  He  narrowly  escaped  destruction  at  the  Massacre  of  St  Bartholomew, 
and  two  years  later,  having  invaded  Normandy,  he  was  taken  prisoner,  and 
executed  on  the  27th  May  1574. 

t  Diurnal  of  Occurrents,  p.  39;  Knox's  History,  ed.  1846,  vol.  i.,  pp.  145-147. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  297 

longer  be  useful  to  himself.  A  discourse  preached  by  Winram 
opened  the  proceedings. 

In  selecting  Winram  to  preach,  Beaton  acted  with  his  usual 
policy.  A  churchman  of  considerable  rank  and  known  ability, 
Winram  was  suspected  of  tolerating  the  new  opinions.  By 
being  called  on  publicly  to  denounce  them,  the  cardinal  ima- 
gined that,  out  of  respect  to  his  own  consistency,  he  would 
feel  bound  to  conform  to  the  ancient  doctrines.  Winram 
probably  suspected  the  snare,  and  so  did  not  fall  into  it. 
Choosing  as  his  subject  the  Parable  of  the  Sower,  he  described 
the  Word  of  God  as  the  good  seed,  and  characterised  heresy 
as  the  evil  seed.  Heresy  consisted,  he  said,  of  opinions 
obstinately  maintained  which  impugned  the  authority  of 
Scripture.  It  was  manifested  on  the  part  of  those  who 
had  the  care  of  souls,  by  wilful  ignorance  or  neglect  of 
the  pastoral  duties.  A  spiritual  teacher  ought  thoroughly 
to  understand  that  Word  which  he  professed  to  explain  to 
others.  In  the  words  of  St  Paul,  "  a  bishop  must  be  blame- 
less, as  the  minister  of  God,  not  stubborn,  not  soon  angry,  not 
given  to  wine,  no  fighter,  not  given  to  filthy  lucre,  but  a  dis- 
penser of  hospitality,  a  lover  of  good  men,  sober,  just,  holy, 
temperate,  holding  fast  the  word  of  doctrine,  that  he  may  be 
able  to  exhort  with  wholesome  learning,  and  to  convince  the 
gainsayers."*  As  the  goldsmith  had  a  test  for  the  true  metal, 
so  the  test  of  heresy  was  Holy  Scripture.  Respecting  the 
punishment  of  heresy  in  this  life,  he  read  in  the  parable,  "  Let 
both  grow  together  until  the  harvest. "^  Nevertheless,  per- 
sistent opposition  to  the  truth  might  be  punished  by  the 
secular  arm. 

This  discourse  might  have  been  addressed  to  any  Protestant 
assembly.  It  certainly  did  not  commit  the  preacher  to  an 
approval  of  the  cardinal's  proceedings.  At  the  Reformation 
in  1560,  Winram  joined  the  Protestant  party,  and  became 
associated  with  Knox  and  others  in  preparing  the  Confession 
of  Faith  and  the  First  Book  of  Discipline. 

At  the  close  of  Winram's  discourse,  Wishart  was  invited  to 

*  Titus  i.  7.  t  Matt.  xiii.  30. 


298      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

ascend  the  pulpit,  there  to  answer  the  articles  of  accusation. 
John  Lauder,*  a  priest  and  member  of  the  Priory,  stood  for- 
ward as  accuser.  Reading  the  articles  of  indictment  with  un- 
becoming haste,^  he  demanded  of  the  prisoner  an  immediate 
answer.  After  on  his  knees  engaging  in  solemn  prayer, 
Wishart  rose,  and  said,  "  Words  abominable  even  to  conceive 
have  been  ascribed  to  me,  wherefore  hear  and  know  my  doc- 
trine :  Since  my  return  from  England,  I  have  taught  the  Ten 
Commandments,  the  Twelve  Articles  of  Faith,  and  the  Lord's 
Prayer.  In  Dundee  I  expounded  St  Paul's  Epistle  to  the 
Romans  ;  and  the  manner  of  my  teaching  I  shall  presently 
explain " 

"Renegade,  traitor,  and  thief!"  exclaimed  Lauder,  "you 
have  been  a  preacher  too  long,  and  have  exercised  your 
function  without  authority." 

The  bishops  having  concurred,  Wishart  expressed  a  desire 
that  he  might  be  tried  by  the  governor. 

"  The  cardinal  is  a  judge,  more  than  sufficient  for  thee,"  said 
Lauder.  "  Is  not  my  Lord  Cardinal  Chancellor  of  Scotland, 
Archbishop  of  St  Andrews,  Bishop  of  Mirepois,  Commendator 
of  Arbroath,  legatus  natus,  and  legattis  a  later e?" — "I  do 
not  depise  my  Lord  Cardinal,"  rejoined  the  preacher,  "  but  I 
desire  to  be  tried  by  the  requirements  of  Holy  Scripture, 
under  the  authority  of  the  governor,  whose  prisoner  I  am." 

"Such  man,  such  judge,"  exclaimed  the  bystanders,  while 
the  cardinal  proposed  to  pronounce  sentence. 

On  further  consideration,  it  was  ruled  that,  better  to  justify 
the  proceedings,  the  charges  should  be  read  a  second  time, 
and  the  prisoner  questioned  upon  each. 

"Renegade,  traitor,  and  thief,"  proceeded  Lauder,  "thou 
hast  deceived  the  people,  and  despised  Holy  Church,  and  the 
authority  of  the  governor.  Prohibited  from  preaching  in 

*  John  Lauder  studied  at  St  Andrews.  His  name  appears  among  the  licentiates 
in  Pedagogio,  anno  1508.  It  appears  from  the  Treasurer's  Accounts  that  he  was 
frequently  employed  in  ecclesiastical  affairs. 

t  That  Lauder  spit  in  the  prisoner's  face,  as  is  stated  by  Knox,  may  not  be 
credited.  Such  ar.  indecency  would  not  have  been  tolerated  either  by  the  bishops 
or  the  spectators  (Knox's  History,  ed.  1846,  vol.  i.,  p.  152). 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  299 

Dundee,  thou  didst  continue.  So  when  the  Bishop  of  Brechin 
cursed  thee,  delivered  thee  to  the  devil,  and  commanded  thee 
to  cease  preaching,  thou  didst  obstinately  disobey." — "  I  read 
in  Holy  Scripture,"  answered  Wishart,  "that  we  ought  to 
obey  God  rather  than  man." 

"  False  heretic,  thou  didst  say  that  a  priest  at  the  altar  say- 
ing mass  was  as  a  fox  in  summer  wagging  his  tail." — "  The 
external  motion  of  the  body,"  replied  the  preacher,  "without 
grace  in  the  heart,  is  like  the  play  of  a  monkey.  God  searches 
the  heart,  and  those  who  truly  worship  Him  must  worship  Him 
in  sincerity.  Such  is  my  teaching." 

"  Thou  hast  falsely  taught  that  there  are  not  seven  sacra- 
ments," said  Lauder. — "  I  believe,"  replied  Wishart,  "  in  those 
sacraments  only  which  were  instituted  by  Christ,  and  are  set 
forth  in  the  Holy  Gospel." 

"  Thou  hast  denied  the  Sacrament  of  Confession,  affirming 
that  men  ought  to  confess  sin  to  God,  and  not  to  the  priest." 
— "  I  teach,  my  lord,"  said  Wishart,  "  that  priestly  confession 
has  no  warrant,  but  that  confession  to  God  is  blessed.  In  the 
5 1st  Psalm  David  makes  confession  to  God,  saying,  'Against 
Thee,  Thee  only,  have  I  sinned.'  When  St  James  writes, 
'  Confess  your  faults  one  to  another,'  *  he  counsels  us  against 
being  high-minded,  and  so  to  acknowledge  our  sinfulness 
before  all.  This  do  not  the  Grey  Friars,  who  say  they  are 
already  pure." 

The  bishops  expressed  a  strong  dissent,  while  Lauder  pro- 
ceeded to  read  the  fifth  article : 

"  False  heretic,  thou  didst  affirm  that  it  was  essential  that 
man  should  understand  the  nature  of  baptism." — "  My  lord," 
said  Wishart,  "  none  of  you  would  transact  business  with  one 
to  whose  language  you  were  a  stranger.  So  the  parent  should 
understand  what  in  baptism  he  undertakes  for  his  child." 

"Thou  hast  the  spirit  of  error!"  exclaimed  a  chaplain  of 
the  cardinal.  Lauder  went  on  : 

"  False  heretic,  traitor,  and  thief,  thou  didst  set  forth  that 
the  sacrifice  of  the  altar  was  but  a  piece  of  bread,  and  the 

*  James  v.  16. 


300      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

consecration  of  the  Eucharist  a  rite  of  superstition." — "  Sail- 
ing on  the  Rhine,"  replied  the  preacher,  "  I  met  a  Jew,  with 
whom  I  reasoned  respecting  his  religion.  '  Messias,  when 
He  cometh,  will  not  abrogate  the  law  as  ye  do,'  said  the  Jew ; 
'  we  support  our  poor,  ye  allow  your  needy  to  perish ;  we 
forbid  the  worship  of  images,  your  churches  are  full  of  idols  ; 
and  ye  adore  a  piece  of  bread,  saying  it  is  your  God.'  This 
incident  I  have  related  in  my  public  teaching." 

"  Read  the  next  article,"  interrupted  the  cardinal. 

"  False  heretic,  thou  didst  affirm  that  extreme  unction  was 
not  a  sacrament." — "To  extreme  unction  I  referred  not  in 
my  teaching,"  was  the  preacher's  reply. 

"  False  heretic,  thou  didst  deny  the  efficacy  of  holy  water, 
and  impugned  the  cursing  of  Holy  Church." — "  I  never  esti- 
mated the  strength  of  holy  water,"  said  Wishart ;  "  and  I 
cannot  commend  exorcism  or  cursing  while  such  have  no 
warrant  in  the  Holy  Scripture." 

"False  renegade,"  proceeded  Lauder,  "thou  hast  denied 
the  power  of  the  Pope,  and  maintained  that  every  layman  is 
a  priest." — "On  the  authority  of  the  Word,"  replied  the 
prisoner,  "  I  taught  that  believers  are  '  a  holy  priesthood,'  * 
and  that  those  ignorant  of  the  Scriptures,  whatever  their  rank 
or  degree,  cannot  instruct  others  ;  without  the  key  of  know- 
ledge, they  cannot  bind  or  loose." 

The  bishops  smiled  derisively,  while  Lauder  proceeded  with 
the  indictment. 

"  False  heretic,  thou  hast  denied  the  freedom  of  the  will, 

and  taught  that  man  can  of  himself  neither  do  good  nor  evil." 

— "  Not  so,"  answered  the  prisoner.     "  I  teach  in  the  words  of 

AHoly  Scripture:   'Whosoever  committeth  sin  is  the  servant 

off^in  ;'  and,  '  If  the  Son  shall  make  you  free,  ye  shall  be  free 

indeed  "t 

heretic,"  said  Lauder,  reading  the  eleventh  article, 

t  said  that  it  is  lawful  to  eat  flesh  on  Friday." — "  In 
the  writing ;s  of  St  Paul  I  read,"  replied  Wishart,  " '  Unto  the 
pure,  all  things  are  pure,  but  unto  those  that  are  defiled  and 
*  i  Peter  fa  5-  t  John  viii.  34,  36. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  301 

unbelieving  is  nothing  pure.'  Through  the  Word  the  faithful 
man  sanctifies  God's  creatures  :  the  creature  may  not  sanctify 
that  which  is  corrupt." 

"  That  is  blasphemy,"  said  the  bishops. 

"Thou  hast  taught,  false  heretic,"  continued  the  accuser, 
"  that  men  should  pray  to  God  only,  and  not  to  the  saints. 
Answer,  yea  or  nay."  —  "The  first  commandment,"  replied 
Wishart,  "  teaches  me  to  worship  God  only ;  and,  as  St  Paul 
writes,  there  is  only  'one  mediator  between  God  and  men, 
the  man  Christ  Jesus.'  *  He  is  the  door  by  which  we  must 
enter  in.  He  that  entereth  not  by  this  door,  but  climbeth 
up  some  other  way,  the  same  is  a  thief  and  a  robber.-f*  Con- 
cerning the  saints,  we  are  not  taught  to  pray  to  them,  and  it 
is  not  certain  that  they  will  hear  us." 

"False  heretic,  thou  sayest  there  is  no  purgatory." — "In 
the  Scriptures,"  replied  the  preacher,  "  such  a  place  is  not 
named." 

"  Thou  hast  falsely  contemned  the  prayers  of  monks  and 
friars,  and  taught  that  priests  may  marry,  and  have  wives." 
— "  I  read  in  St  Matthew's  Gospel,"  was  the  Reformer's  reply, 
"  that  those  who  abstain  from  marriage  for  the  kingdom  of 
heaven's  sake  are  blessed  of  God.|  Those  who  have  not  the 
gift  of  chastity,  and  yet  have  become  celebates,  ye  know  have 
erred  greatly." 

"  Renegade  and  heretic,  thou  hast  refused  to  obey  our 
general  and  provincial  councils."  —  "Should  your  councils 
teach  according  to  the  Word  of  God,  I  shall  obey  them,"  was 
the  answer. 

"  Proceed  with  the  articles,"  shouted  John  Scot  of  the  Grey- 
friars'  monastery. 

"  Thou  hast  taught  that  God  dwells  not  in  churches  built 
by  men's  hands,  and  that  it  is  vain  to  consecrate  costly  edifices 
to  His  praise." — "  God,"  replied  Wishart,  "  is  present  every- 
where. '  Behold,'  said  Solomon,  '  heaven  and  the  heaven  of 
heavens  cannot  contain  Thee  :  how  much  less  this  house 
which  I  have  built.'§  In  the  Book  of  Job  God  is  described 

*  I  Tim.  ii.  5.  f  John  x.  I.  J  Matt.  xix.  12.  §  2  Chron.  vi.  18. 


302      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

as  '  high  as  heaven :  deeper  than  hell :  His  measure  longer 
than  the  earth,  and  broader  than  the  sea.'  *  Yet  God  is 
pleased  to  honour  places  specially  dedicated  to  His  worship  : 
'  Where  two  or  three/  said  the  Saviour,  '  are  gathered  to- 
gether in  my  name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them.'  •)•  God 
is  certainly  present  where  He  is  truly  worshipped." 

"  Thou  hast,  false  heretic,  averred  that  men  ought  not  to 
fast." — "  Fasting,"  replied  the  prisoner,  "  is  commended  in 
Scripture ;  and  I  have  learned  by  experience  that  fasting  is 
beneficial  to  the  body.  God  honoureth  those  only  who  truly 
fast." 

"False  heretic,  thou  hast  said  that  the  souls  of  men  do 
sleep  until  the  Day  of  Judgment." — "  God  forgive  those  who 
so  report  me,"  replied  Wishart.  "The  soul  of  the  believer 
does  not  sleep,  but  at  once  enters  into  glory." 

As  the  preacher  closed,  the  bishops  returned  a  verdict  of 
"guilty."  Wishart,  on  his  knees,  expressed  these  words  of 
prayer :  "  Gracious  and  everlasting  God,  how  long  wilt  Thou 
permit  Thy  servants  to  suffer  through  infatuation  and  ignor- 
ance ?  We  know  that  the  righteous  must  suffer  persecution 
in  this  life,  which  passeth  as  doth  a  shadow,  yet  we  would 
entreat  Thee,  merciful  Father,  that  Thou  would est  defend  Thy 
people  whom  Thou  hast  chosen,  and  give  them  grace  to 
endure  and  continue  in  Thy  Holy  Word." 

Having  commanded  the  laity  to  retire,  the  cardinal  sen- 
tenced the  prisoner  to  be  burned  to  ashes.  By  the  captain 
of  the  castle  and  his  warders,  Wishart  was  conducted  to  his 
prison.  There  he  was  visited  by  two  monks  from  the  Grey- 
friars'  monastery,  John  Scot  and  another,  who  offered  to  act 
as  his  confessors.  He  declined  their  offer,  but  expressed  a 
desire  that  the  sub-prior  might  be  sent  to  him.  Winram 
joined  him  at  once  ;  but  the  subject  of  their  conversation  did 
not  transpire. 

The  execution  was  fixed  for  the  ist  of  March,  the  day  after 
the  trial.  A  stake  was  erected  in  the  centre  of  an  open 
space  fronting  the  principal  entrance  to  the  castle.  The 
*  Job  xi.  8,  9.  t  Matt,  xriii.  20. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART. 


303 


main  tower,  the  several  turrets,  and  front  windows  were 
decorated  with  silk  hangings  and  tapestry ;  and  the  prisoner's 
escape  was  rendered  impossible  by  the  heavy  artillery  of  the 
fortress  being  pointed  towards  the  scene  of  execution. 

From  the  front  windows  of  the  castle,  the  cardinal  and 
bishops  reclined  on  splendid  cushions.  The  cardinal's  military 
guard,  bearing  insignia,  encircled  the  stake.  As  the  trum- 
peters sounded,  two  executioners  proceeded  to  fetch  the 
prisoner.  They  arrayed  him  in  a  vestment  of  black  linen, 
and  hung  bags  of  gunpowder  around  his  person  ;  then  they 
conducted  him  to  the  place  of  death. 


"  Pray  to  our  Lady,  Master  George,"  exclaimed  two  friars, 
as  the  prisoner  crossed  the  drawbridge.  "  Tempt  me  not,  my 
brethren,"  replied  the  preacher. 

At  the  stake,  Wishart  fell  upon  his  knees,  and  exclaimed 
aloud  :  "  Saviour  of  the  world,  have  mercy  upon  me. 
Heavenly  Father,  into  Thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit." 
Turning  to  the  multitude,  he  said :  "  Christian  brethren  and 
sisters,  be  not  offended  at  the  Word  of  God  on  account  of  the 
tortures  you  see  prepared  for  me.  Love  the  Word  which 
publisheth  salvation,  and  suffer  patiently  for  the  Gospel's  sake. 
To  my  brethren  and  sisters  who  have  heard  me  elsewhere, 


304      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

declare  that  my  doctrine  is  no  old  wife's  fables,  but  the 
blessed  Gospel  of  salvation.  For  preaching  that  Gospel,  I  am 
now  to  suffer,  and  I  suffer  gladly  for  the  Redeemer's  sake. 
Should  any  of  you  be  called  on  to  endure  persecution,  fear 
not  them  who  can  destroy  the  body,  for  they  cannot  slay  the 
soul.  Most  falsely  have  I  been  accused  of  teaching  that  the 
soul  shall  sleep  after  death  till  the  last  day ;  I  believe  my 
soul  shall  sup  with  my  Saviour  this  night."  After  a  pause, 
he  said,  "  I  beseech  you,  brethren  and  sisters,  exhort  your 
prelates  to  acquaint  themselves  with  the  Word  of  God,  so 
that  they  may  be  ashamed  to  do  evil  and  learn  to  do  good  ; 
for  if  they  will  not  turn  from  their  sinful  way,  the  wrath  of 
God  shall  fall  upon  them  suddenly,  and  they  shall  not  escape." 
Again  falling  on  his  knees,  he  prayed  for  those  who  had, 
through  ignorance,  condemned  him,  and  for  all  who  had 
testified  against  him  falsely.  One  of  the  executioners,  who 
entreated  his  forgiveness,  he  kissed  on  the  cheek,  saying  to 
him,  "  By  this  token  I  forgive  thee  ;  do  thine  office."  Wishart 
was  now  made  fast  to  the  stake,  while  a  heap  of  faggots 
was  piled  around  his  body.  Fire  being  applied,  the  bags  of 
gunpowder  attached  to  his  person  exploded,  and  he  ceased  to 
live. 

Deeply  moved,  the  multitude  retired  from  the  scene  of 
death.  A  religion  which  required  such  sacrifices  could  not 
long  retain  general  acceptance.  But  the  cardinal  was  in- 
different to  public  sentiment.  Early  in  April  he,  at  Fin- 
haven  in  Forfarshire,  attended  the  marriage  of  his  illegitimate 
daughter,  Margaret,  with  David  Lindsay,  afterwards  Earl  of 
Crawford.  One  of  the  charges  on  which  Wishart  was  con- 
demned, was  that  he  opposed  the  celibacy  of  the  clergy.  But 
while  the  cardinal  held  those  who  opposed  priestly  celibacy 
to  be  worthy  of  death,  he  personally  ignored  its  obligations. 
For  many  years  he  cohabited  with  Marion  Ogilvy,  a  daughter 
of  Lord  Ogilvy  of  Airlie,  by  whom  he  was  father  of  two  sons 
and  a  daughter,  Margaret.*  In  a  contract  of  marriage  which 
he  subscribed  at  St  Andrews  on  the  roth  April  1546,  he 

*  Knox's  History,  ed.  1846,  p.  174,  note  by  Mr  David  Laing. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  305 

names  Margaret  Beaton  as  his  daughter,  and  as  such  he  pro- 
vided her  with  a  dowry  of  four  thousand  merks.* 

The  account  we  have  presented  of  Wishart's  trial  and 
martyrdom  is  derived  from  the  narrative  of  Foxe  the 
martyrologist,  in  the  first  edition  of  his  "  Actes  and  Monu- 
mentes,"  printed  in  1563.  The  original  of  that  narrative 
is  contained  in  a  black-letter  volume,-}-  printed  at  London  by 
John  Day  and  William  Seres,  with  the  title,  "  The  tragical 
death  of  David  Beato,  Bishoppe  of  Sainct  Andrewes  in  Scot- 
land, whereunto  is  ioyned  the  martyrdom  of  maister  George 
Wyseharte,  gentleman,  for  whose  sake  the  aforesayed  bishoppe 
was  not  long  after  slayne.  Wherein  thou  maiest  learne  what 
a  burnynge  charitie  they  shewed  not  only  towardes  him :  but 
vnto  suche  as  come  to  their  hades  for  the  blessed  Gospel's 
sake."  The  volume  is  without  a  date,  but  the  "  Tragedy  of 
Beaton  "  contained  in  it  was  composed  by  Sir  David  Lindsay 
about  a  year  after  the  cardinal's  death,  and  it  is  not  im- 
probable that  the  account  of  Wishart,  by  which  it  is  accom- 
panied, was  prepared  by  Knox  when  he  resided  in  the  Castle 
of  St  Andrews,  between  April  and  July  1547.  Whether  this 
opinion  be  well  founded  or  not,  Knox  has,  by  including  in 
his  "  History"  the  narrative  of  the  martyr's  trial  and  death 
contained  in  the  black-letter  volume,  substantially  verified  its 
details. 

In  the  reprint  of  Foxe's  "  Actes  and  Monumentes,"  which 
appeared  in  1570,  on  the  margin  opposite  to  Wishart's  allu- 
sion to  the  bishops,  are  these  words :  "  M.  George  Wishart 
prophesieth  of  the  death  of  the  cardinall,  which  followed 
after."  Proceeding  on  this  unwarrantable  deduction,  George 
Buchanan,  in  his  "  History  of  Scotland,"  asserts  that,  at  the 
stake,  Wishart  did  actually  predict  the  cardinal's  death. 
Adopting  his  uncle's  statement,  David  Buchanan,  in  his 
edition  of  Knox's  "  History,"  J  adds  that  Wishart  at  the  stake, 
"  looking  towards  the  cardinal,  said,  he  who  in  such  state 

*  Lord  Lindsay's  Lives  of  the  Lindsays,  London,  1858,  8vo,  vol.  i.,  p.  201. 
1"  A  unique  copy  of  this  volume  belonged  to  the  late  Mr  Richard  Heber. 
£  Knox's  History,  edited  by  David  Buchanan,  Lond.,  1644,  p.  171. 

U 


306      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

from  that  high  place  feedeth  his  eyes  with  my  torments, 
within  few  dayes  shall  be  hanged  out  at  the  same  window,  to 
be  seen  with  as  much  ignominy,  as  he  now  leaneth  there  in 
pride." 

Other  erroneous  statements  in  connection  with  Wishart's 
execution  may  be  related,  since  they  have  unhappily  been 
adopted  by  more  than  one  historian,  and  are  generally 
believed.  Lindsay  of  Pitscottie,  an  extremely  credulous  writer, 
remarks*  "that  Wishart  informed  the  captain  of  the  castle 
that  he  saw  a  great  fire  upon  the  sea,  which,  moving  to  and 
fro,  at  length  came  upon  the  city  of  St  Andrews,  and  lighting 
upon  the  earth,  brake  asunder,  which,  he  thought,  did  portend 
the  wrath  of  God  to  seize  shortly  not  only  on  that  wicked 
man,  who  was  lord  of  that  castle,  but  also  upon  the  city." 
George  Buchanan-f*  relates  that  the  sub-prior,  on  being  admitted 
to  Wishart's  presence,  asked  him  whether  he  would  receive 
the  Holy  Communion,  when  he  answered  that  he  would,  pro- 
vided it  was  dispensed  in  both  the  elements.  Having  com- 
municated to  the  cardinal  the  prisoner's  wish,  Winram  was 
censured  for  conveying  it,  while  the  request  was  denied. 
Next  morning,  at  nine  o'clock,  the  governor  of  the  castle,  on 
sitting  down  to  breakfast,  asked  Wishart  to  eat  with  him. 
Wishart  consented,  and,  with  the  governor's  consent,  con- 
secrated bread  and  wine,  and  distributed  to  those  who  sat 
with  him,  also  partaking  himself.  He  then  closed  with 
prayer.  This  narrative  has  been  incorporated  by  David 
Buchanan  in  his  edition  of  Knox's  "  History." 

Lindsay  of  Pitscottie's  narrative  betrays  the  credulous 
character  of  its  author,  and  may  be  dismissed  summarily. 
The  statements  of  Buchanan  are  unsupported  by  Knox. 
As  Knox  was  associated  with  Winram  in  preparing  the  stand- 
ards of  the  Reformed  Church,  he  was  as  likely  as  any 
other  to  obtain  from  him  what  he  might  divulge  respect- 
ing his  last  interview  with  Wishart.  But  Knox  remarks 

*  Lindsay  of  Pitscottie's  History  of  Scotland,  from  1431  to  1565,  Edin.,  1728, 
folio,  p.  190. 
t  History  of  Scotland,  by  George  Buchanan,  Lond.,  1690,  folio,  vol.  ii.,  p.  96. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  307 

emphatically  that  "  he  could  not  show"  what  had  occurred  on 
that  occasion.*  Further,  at  the  time  that  Wishart  was  at  St 
Andrews  undergoing  his  sufferings,  Knox  was  resident  in  the 
neighbouring  county  of  Haddington,  while  Buchanan  was  in 
exile.  Knox,  too,  was  an  inmate  of  the  castle  in  which  the 
martyr  was  imprisoned,  little  more  than  a  year  after  his  death, 
and  Buchanan  did  not  compose  his  "  History"  till  nearly  thirty 
years  afterwards.  If  the  governor  of  the  castle  related  that 
Wishart  dispensed  the  Holy  Communion,  Knox  must  have 
heard  the  narrative,  and  he  could  have  no  motive  for  sup- 
pressing it.  But  it  is  extremely  improbable  that  one  occupy- 
ing the  position  of  governor  of  the  cardinal's  castle,  would 
venture  to  allow  a  condemned  heretic  to  consecrate  the 
eucharist.  By  so  doing,  and  more  especially  by  partaking 
of  the  elements  himself,  he  would  have  rendered  himself 
liable  to  a  charge  of  sacrilege,  attended  with  imprisonment  or 
death.  Wishart,  after  his  trial,  would  no  doubt  be  carried 
back  to  his  dungeon  under  the  rude  guardianship  of  unfeeling 
warders. 

Wishart's  alleged  prediction  as  to  Beaton's  death  is  un- 
noticed in  the  black-letter  volume  printed  shortly  after  his 
execution.  Foxe,  in  his  first  and  in  the  text  of  his  subsequent 
editions,  omits  reference  to  it;  and  Knox,  who  ascribes  to 
the  martyr  what  he  did  not  claim,  a  sort  of  foreknowledge,  is 
silent  on  the  point.  But  on  other  grounds  the  preacher  has 
been  charged  with  conspiring  against  the  cardinal's  life.  And 
this  charge  must  be  fully  met. 

Wishart  returned  to  Scotland  at  the  close  of  July  1543,  and 
in  April  of  the  following  year,  a  person,  described  as  a  "  Scot- 
tish man  called  Wyshert,"  bore  from  Crichton  of  Brunstone  to 
the  court  of  Henry  VIII.  a  letter,  of  which  the  contents  indi- 
cate a  conspiracy  for  the  destruction  of  the  cardinal.  The 
question  arises  as  to  whether  the  preacher  and  the  messenger 
were  one  and  the  same  person.  To  arrive  at  a  proper  con- 
clusion, the  conspiracy  against  Beaton  must  be  considered 
in  its  details. 

*  Knox's  History,  Edin.,  1846,  vol.  i.,  p.  168. 


308      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

When  James  V.  died  unexpectedly  in  December  1542, 
there  was  found  in  his  possession  a  roll,  containing  the  names 
of  three  hundred  and  sixty  persons  suspected  of  heresy.  The 
roll  was  in  the  handwriting  of  Beaton,  who  had  desired  the 
king  to  confiscate  all  who  were  named  in  it.  To  carry  out 
his  plans,  Beaton  presented  a  document,  which  he  described 
as  the  king's  will,  constituting  him  governor  of  the  kingdom, 
and  guardian  of  the  infant  princess.  That  document  was 
pronounced  a  forgery,  and,  by  general  consent,  the  Earl  of 
Arran  was  appointed  governor.* 

A  proposal  for  the  marriage  of  the  infant  queen  with  the 
Prince  of  Wales  was,  in  the  interests  of  the  Church,  keenly 
opposed  by  the  cardinal.  Letters  from  him  to  the  House  of 
Guise,  inviting  armed  resistance,  being  discovered,  he  was 
seized  by  the  governor,  and,  on  the  charge  of  treason,  warded 
in  Blackness  Castle.  He  regained  his  liberty,  but  in  the 
meantime  efforts  were  put  forth  by  Henry  VIII.  to  have 
him  brought  as  a  prisoner  to  England.-f-  From  among 
those  whose  lands  the  cardinal  had  proposed  to  confiscate, 
Henry  found  no  difficulty  in  procuring  the  services  of  some 
well  suited  to  his  purpose.  With  these  were  joined  a  former 
friend  of  the  cardinal,  Alexander  Crichton  of  Brunstone, 
a  person  of  uncommon  skill  and  vigorous  enterprise.  On 
Crichton's  promise  of  co-operation,  Henry  honoured  him  with 
a  private  letter.  Crichton  acknowledged  the  royal  missive, 
in  a  communication  dated  i6th  November  1543,  in  which  he 
assured  Sir  Ralph  Sadler  he  would  do  his  best  to  fulfil  the 
king's  wishes.  J 

But  the  cardinal,  though  widely  obnoxious,  could  not  be 
assailed  without  much  risk  and  difficulty.  As  chancellor  of 
the  kingdom,  and  a  prince  of  the  Church,  any  injury  done 
to  him  would  be  adjudged  treason.  From  many  of  the  nobles 
and  the  principal  landowners  he  had  obtained  bonds  of 
manrent,  by  which  they  had  become  bound  to  support  him  with 

*  Sadler's  State  Papers,  vol.  i.,  pp.  94,  138. 
f  Ib.t  vol.  i.,  pp.  221,  249,  278,  312. 
t  Ib.,  vol.  i.,  p.  332. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  309 

their  persons  and  goods.*  Crichton  therefore  could  not  readily 
fulfil  the  wishes  of  his  royal  correspondent.  The  mission 
which  he  undertook  in  November  1543  was  not  in  shape  until 
the  following  April.  Of  the  condition  of  affairs  at  that  period, 
we  are  informed  in  the  following  communication  from  the 
Earl  of  Hertford  to  the  king  : 

"Please  it  your  Highnes  to  understande  that  this  daye  arryved 
here  with  me,  the  Erll  of  Hertforde,  a  Scottish  man  called  Wyshert, 
and  brought  me  a  letter  from  the  Larde  of  Brimstone,  which  I  sende 
your  Highnes  herewith.  And  according  to  his  request  have  taken 
order  for  the  repayre  of  the  said  Wyshert  to  Your  Majestic  by  poste, 
both  for  the  delyvere  of  such  letters  as  he  hathe  to  Your  Majestic  from 
the  saide  Brunstone ;  and  also  for  the  declaracion  of  his  credence 
whiche  as  I  can  perceyve  by  him  consisteth  in  two  poyntes :  one 
is  that  the  Larde  of  Graunge/late  thresourer  of  Scotlande,  the  Mr. 
of  Rothes,  th'  Erie  of  Rothes'  eldest  son,  &  John  Charters  wolde 
attempt  eyther  t'  apprehend  or  slee  the  Cardynall  at  some  tyme 
when  he  shall  passe  thoroughe  the  Fyf  lande,  as  he  doth  sundrye  tymes 
to  Sanct  Andrewes  :  and  in  case  they  can  so  apprehend  hym,  will 
delyver  him  unto  Your  Majestic :  which  attemptat  he  say  the  they 
wolde  enterpryse  if  they  knew  Your  Majesties  pleasure  therein  :  and 
what  supportacion  and  mayntenance  Your  Majestic  wolde  mynister 
unto  them  efter  th'  execution  of  the  same,  in  case  they  suld  be  per- 
sewed  afterwards  be  any  of  theyr  enemyes :  the  other  is  that  in 
case  your  Maj  :  wolde  grant  unto  them  a  conveniant  enterteyne- 
ment  for  to  kepe  1000  or  1500  men  in  wages  for  a  moneth  or  two, 
they,  joyning  with  the  power  of  th'  Erll  Marshall,  the  saide  Mr.  of 
Rothes,  the  Larde  of  Calder,  and  others  of  the  Lorde  Grey's  friends 
will  tak  upon  them  at  such  tyme  as  Your  Maj :  armye  sail  be 
in  Scottland  to  destroye  the  abbey  and  towne  of  Arbroy*  being 
the  Cardynalles,  and  all  th'  other  bisshopes  and  abbotes  houses 
and  countreys  on  that  syde  the  water  thcreaboute ;  and  t'  appre- 
hende  all  those  whiche  they  say  be  the  principall  impugnators  of 
th'  amyte  betwen  Englande  and  Scotlande  :  for  the  whiche  they  sulde 
have  a  good  opportunytie,  as  they  saye,  when  the  power  of  the  said 
bisshopes  and  abbotes  sail  resorte  toward  Edinburgh  to  resiste  Your 
Majestyes  armye.  And  for  th'  execution  of  these  thinges  the  said 
*  Knox's  History,  edit.  1846,  vol.  i.,  p.  172. 


310      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Wyshert  sayeth  that  the  saide  Erll  Marshall  and  others  above  named 
will  capitulate  with  your  Majestic  in  wryting  under  their  handes  and 
scales  afore  they  shall  desyre  any  supplie  or  ayde  of  money  at  Your 
Majesties'  handes.  This  is  th'  effect  of  his  credence  with  other 
sondry  advertisementes  of  the  grit  contencion  and  division  that  is  at 
this  present  within  the  realme  of  Scotlande,  whiche  we  doubt  not  he 
woll  declair  unto  Your  Majestic  at  good  length. — Also  I,  the  said 
Erll  of  Hertford,  have  recevyed  this  daye  certene  letters  from  the 
Lord  Wharton  and  Sir  Robert  Bowes,  with  the  copies  of  suche  letters 
as  were  wrytten  be  the  Erll  of  Glencarne's  sone,  &  Bishop  the  Erll 
of  Lennox's  secretary,  to  be  sent  into  Scotlande  to  the  same  Erlles : 
whiche  copies  the  said  Lord  Wharton  &  Mr  Bowes  atteyned  to 
suche  meanes  as  sail  appear  unto  your  Majestic  by  theyr  saide  letters, 
whiche  with  the  saide  copies  we  send  also  to  Your  Highnes,  here 
inclosed  :  together  with  certen  other  letters  which  arryved  here  also 
this  day  from  the  Lord  Ewers,  conteyning  certen  exploytes  done  in 
Scotlande.  Fynally,  the  Lorde  Wyllyam  Howard  being  at  Tynemont 
sent  a  letter  this  morning  to  me,  the  said  Erll  of  Hertford,  whereby 
it  appereth  that  certaine  of  the  shippes  victuallers  are  arryved  there, 
and  some  of  theym  report  that  yesterday  in  the  morning  they  sawe 
my  Lord  Admyrall  with  the  reste  of  the  fleete  on  see  borde  Hull 
makyng  hitherwarde  :  so  that  the  wynde  contynuing  as  it  is,  they  wilbe 
at  Tynemont  this  night  or  to  morrawe  with  the  grace  of  God :  who 
preserve  Your  Royall  Majestic."  * 

This  letter  is  endorsed,  "  Despeched  xvij°  Aprel  at  iiijoc  at 
aftrnone." 

In  the  preceding  communication,  Lord  Hertford  informs 
the  king,  through  the  messenger  Wishart,  that  Crichton  of 
Brunstone  had  made  two  propositions.  In  the  first  instance 
he  undertook,  on  certain  conditions,  that  the  Master  of 
Rothes,  Kirkaldy  of  Grange,  and  Charteris  of  Kinfauns, 
would  seize  the  cardinal,  and  either  slay  him  or  send  him  a 
prisoner  into  England.  Or  on  obtaining  from  the  English 
king  the  necessary  support,  the  Earl  Marischal,  the  Earl  of 
Rothes,  Sandilands  of  Calder,  and  other  associates  of  Lord 
Gray,  would  destroy  the  Abbey  of  Arbroath,  of  which  the 
cardinal  was  commendator,  and  from  which  he  derived  a  por- 
*  State  Papers,  Henry  VIII.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  377,  378.. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  311 

tion  of  his  wealth.  On  the  subject  of  these  proposals,  the 
messenger,  Wishart,  was  admitted  by  Henry  to  a  private 
interview,  of  which  the  result  is  set  forth  in  the  following 
despatch  from  the  Lords  of  the  Privy  Council  to  the  Lord 
Hertford  : 

"  After  our  moost  harty  commendations  unto  your  good  Lordship, 
These  shalbe  to  signifye  unto  you  that  this  bearer  Wishert,  which 
cam  from  Brounston,  hath  bene  with  the  King's  Majestic,  and  for  his 
credence  declared  ever  the  same  matiers  in  substance  whereof 
Your  Lordship  hath  written  hither :  and  hath  received  for  answer 
touching  the  Feats  against  the  Cardinall,  That  in  cace  the  Lords  and 
Gentlemen  which  he  named  shall  enterprise  the  same  ernestly  and  do 
the  best  they  can  to  th'  uttermost  of  their  powers  to  bringe  the  same 
to  passe  indede;  and  theruppon  not  being  able  to  contynue  longer  in 
Scotlande  sholbe  enforced  to  flye  into  this  Realme  for  refuge,  his 
Highnes  wilbe  contented  to  accepte  them  &  relief  them  as  shall 
appertyn.  And  as  to  their  second  desyre  to  have  th'  entretaynement 
of  a  certayn  nombre  of  men  at  his  Highnes  chargs,  promisyng 
therefore  to  covenaunt  with  His  Majestic  in  writing  under  their  seales 
to  burn  and  destroy  the  Abbots,  Bishops,  and  other  Kirkmen's  lands, 
His  Majestic  hath  aunswered  that  forasmuch  his  Highnes  Armey  shall 
be  by  the  grace  of  God  entred  into  Scotlande  and  redy  to  return 
agayn  before  His  Highnes  can  sende  doun  to  them,  and  they  sende 
agayn  and  have  aunswer  for  a  conclusion  in  this  matier,  his  Highnes 
thinks  the  tyme  too  shorte  to  commune  any  further  in  it  after  this 
sorte  :  But  if  they  mynde  effectually  to  him,  and  destroy  as  they  have 
offred  at  his  Majestie's  Armey  being  in  Scotland;  and  for  their  true 
and  upright  dealyngs  with  His  Majestic  therin,  will  lay  in  to  Your 
Lordshipp,  my  Lord  Lieutenant,  such  hostages  as  you  shall  think 
convenient :  his  Highnes  will  take  order  that  you  my  Lord,  shall 
delivre  unto  them  one  thousand  punds  sterling  for  their  furnytures 
in  that  behalf  which  his  Majestie's  pleasure  is  you  shall  cause  to  be 
payed  unto  them  in  case  they  shall  break  with  you  in  this  matier ; 
and  delivre  you  such  hostages  as  aforesayd.  Thus  fayre  your  Lord- 
shipp right  hardly  well.  From  Grenewich  the  26th  of  April  1544. 

"Your  good  Lordship's  assured  loveing  frends  Cherles  Suffolk, 
Tho.  Weston,  Ste.  Winton,  John  Gage,  T.  Chene,  Antony  Wyng- 
field,  William  Pagot."  * 

k        *  Haynes'  Collection  of  State  Papers,  Lond.,  1740,  folio,  p.  32. 


312      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Here  we  arrive  at  a  point  whence  to  determine  whether  the 
messenger  who  conveyed  to  the  Court  of  Henry  VIII.  Crich- 
ton's  proposals  for  the  destruction  of  the  cardinal,  was  identi- 
cal with  the  Reformed  preacher.  The  conspiracy,  it  will  be 
remarked,  had  hitherto  proceeded  solely  on  political  grounds. 
Henry  desired  the  cardinal's  destruction  on  account  of  his  per- 
sistent opposition  to  the  proposed  alliance  on  which  he  had  set 
his  heart ;  while  Crichton  sought  to  avenge  a  private  feud, 
and  his  coadjutors  to  resent  a  scheme  of  confiscation.  Was 
Wishart  the  preacher  likely  to  implicate  himself  in  such  a 
plot  ?  Politically  it  was  not  for  the  interests  of  the  Protestant 
cause  that  he  should.  Could  he  have  done  so  unknown  to  the 
cardinal,  who,  among  the  numerous  charges  brought  against 
him  at  his  trial,  does  not  include  that  of  treason  or  sacrilege  ? 
Does  Wishart's  character,  concerning  which  testimony  is  borne 
by  two  persons  to  whom  he  was  personally  known,  warrant 
the  belief  that  he  would  seek  to  destroy  life  ?  By  Tylney  he 
is  described  as  "  a  man,  modest,  temperate,  fearing  God,  hating 
covetousness,  forgiving  those  who  would  have  slain  him,  and 
seeking  to  do  good  to  all  and  hurt  to  none."  Knox  *  styles 
him  "  a  meek  lamb,"  and  further  describes  him  as  "  a  man 
of  such  graces,  as  before  him  were  never  heard  within  this 
nation." 

Both  in  Lord  Hertford's  despatch  to  Henry  VIII.,  and  in  the 
Privy  Council's  answer,  Crichton's  messenger  is  styled  Wyshert 
or  Wisherk  George  Wishart  was  in  holy  orders,  and  was  a 
Master  of  Arts.  His  ecclesiastical  connection  is  referred  to  in 
the  letters  contained  in  the  Cottonian  MSS.  He  is  described 
as  a  "  clerk "  by  his  contemporary  Bishop  Lesley,-}-  who 
belonged  to  the  Romish  Church.  He  is  named  as  Master  of 
Arts  by  Tylney,  who  remarks  that  he  was  "  commonly  called 

*  Knox's  History,  vol.  i.,  pp.  125,  168. 

+  The  History  of  Scotland,  written  in  the  Scottish  vernacular  for  the  use  of 
Queen  Mary,  by  John  Lesley,  Bishop  of  Ross.  Published  by  the  Bannatyne  Club 
in  1830,  from  a  MS.  belonging  to  the  Earl  of  Leven,  p.  191.  Bishop  Lesley  was 
born  in  1526,  and  was  therefore  in  his  twentieth  year  at  the  period  of  Wishart's 
martyrdom. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  313 

Maister  George  of  Bennet's  College."  He  is  styled  "  Maister 
George  "  by  Knox.*  In  the  Treasurer's  Accounts-f-  he  also 
receives  the  prenomen  of  Master.  Had  Crichton  been  pri- 
vileged to  employ  a  messenger  who  was  a  Master  of  Arts 
and  in  orders,  he  would  not  have  allowed  the  facts  to  remain 
unnoticed.  And  if  his  messenger  had  been  the  Cambridge 
scholar,  whom  the  Scottish  Commissioners  took  under  their 
protection,  it  is  absolutely  certain  that  he  would  have  said  so. 
By  the  Earl  of  Hertford  the  messenger  would  have  been  de- 
scribed otherwise  than  as  "  a  Scottish  man  called  Wyshert" 

But  it  may,  we  think,  conclusively  be  shown  who  the  mes- 
senger really  was.  There  was  a  connection  by  marriage  be- 
tween the  House  of  Wishart  of  Pitarrow  and  that  of  Learmont 
of  Balcomie.J  James  Learmont  of  Balcomie  was  one  of  the 
commissioners  employed  in  negotiating  the  marriage  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales  with  the  infant  Queen  Mary.  He  was  an 
avowed  enemy  of  the  cardinal,  who  latterly  sought  his  appre- 
hension^ He  was  also  an  associate  of  Norman  Leslie,  to 
whose  sister  his  son  George  was  afterwards  married.  || 

At  this  period  the  members  of  the  House  of  Pitarrow 
consisted  of  John  Wishart,  who  owned  the  estate,  his 
brother  George  the  preacher,  and  James  of  "  Carnebeg,"  his 
second  brother,  who  was  father  of  four  sons,  John,  James, 
Alexander,  and  George.  John  Wishart,  eldest  son  of  James  of 
Carnebeg,  ultimately  became  a  judge  in  the  Supreme  Court, 
and  probably  had  a  legal  training.  If  he  studied  law  at  Edin- 
burgh, he  would  in  that  city  have  an  opportunity  of  meeting 
the  associates  of  his  kinsman,  the  Laird  of  Balcomie.  Two 
of  these  associates,  Norman  Leslie,  and  Kirkaldy,  younger  of 
Grange,  were  early  conspirators  against  the  cardinal. 

If  John  Wishart  became  Crichton's  messenger,  his  designa- 
tion in  the  Earl  of  Hertford's  letter  was  sufficiently  appro- 
priate. His  father,  as  a  younger  brother  of  the  Laird  of 
Pitarrow,  owned  only  a  small  holding  on  the  estate,  and  he 

*  Knox's  History,  ed.  1846,  vol.  i.,  pp.  125-169. 

t  Treasurer's  Accounts,  March  1546. 

J  See  supra.  §  Seefostta.  \\  Douglas's  Peerage,  p.  588. 


314      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

had  himself  no  certain  prospects,  or  any  well-defined  social 
status. 

Was  this  John  Wishart  likely  to  support  the  cause  of  the 
Reformation  by  joining  in  a  conspiracy  against  the  cardinal  ? 
His  career  is  depicted  in  the  accompanying  history  of  his 
House.  He  was  an  active  promoter  of  the  Protestant  doc- 
trines, and  one  of  those  who  sat  in  Parliament  when  the 
Reformed  Church  was  recognised.  He  was  an  adherent  of 
the  Regent  Murray,  who  granted  him  land  and  honoured  him 
with  knighthood.  But,  like  his  contemporaries,  Kirkaldy  of 
Grange,  and  Maitland  of  Lethington,  he  lacked  consistency. 
As  paymaster  of  the  Reformed  clergy,  his  conduct  was  doubt- 
ful. He  deserted  the  Regent  Murray,  who  was  largely  his 
benefactor.  He  joined  Kirkaldy  of  Grange  when  he  held  the 
Castle  of  Edinburgh  on  behalf  of  the  dethroned  queen,  and  in 
virtual  opposition  to  the  Protestant  government.  He  rejoiced 
in  contention,  and  was  chargeable  with  avarice.  Having 
joined  Kirkaldy  on  behalf  of  Queen  Mary,  in  1573,  he  was 
not  unlikely  to  have  associated  with  the  same  wavering  states- 
man in  plotting  the  death  of  Beaton  about  thirty  years  pre- 
viously. 

But  George  Wishart  the  preacher  was,  on  the  father's  side, 
uncle  of  John  Wishart,  the  supposed  conspirator..  If  the 
preacher  was  cognisant  that  his  nephew  joined  in  the  conspir- 
acy, he  was  personally  identified  with  it.  Doubtless  so.  But 
there  is  no  evidence  that  he  was  informed  of  it.  He  seems  to 
have  resided  at  Pitarrow  from  the  period  of  his  return  to 
Scotland,  in  July  1543,  till  the  spring  of  1545,  when  he  com- 
menced preaching  at  Montrose.  The  "  Scottish  man  called 
Wyshert  "  appears  in  connection  with  the  conspiracy  only  in 
April  1544.  If,  as  we  conjecture,  John  Wishart  was  studying 
law  at  Edinburgh  when  Learmont  of  Balcomie  made  him 
known  to  the  cardinal's  enemies,  he  may  have  proceeded  on  his 
expedition  to  the  English  court  without  communicating  with 
his  relatives  at  Pitarrow.  On  the  messenger's  return,  the  plot 
slumbered,  and  it  was  not  revived  till  the  following  spring,  when 
the  name  of  Wishart  no  longer  appears  in  the  list  of  con- 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  315 

spirators.  Is  it  an  unwarrantable  hypothesis  that,  being 
latterly  informed  of  his  doings,  his  uncle,  the  preacher,  per- 
suaded him  to  withdraw  from  the  conspiracy  ? 

Till  George  Wishart's  death,  the  conspirators  made  no 
definite  arrangements.  They  were  now  actuated  by  a  deadly 
revenge,  which  was  probably  stimulated  by  Learmont  of  Bal- 
comie,  the  martyr's  relative.  It  would  appear  the  final  plot 
was  in  active  progress  a  few  weeks  after  the  martyrdom,  for, 
on  his  return  from  Finhaven  early  in  April,  the  cardinal 
learned  that  he  was  in  danger.  Attending  the  Provincial 
Synod  at  Edinburgh,  in  the  end  of  April,  the  Earl  of  Angus 
made  an  attempt  to  destroy  him.*  On  his  return  to  St 
Andrews,  he  gave  instructions  that  the  castle  should  be 
repaired  and  fortified.  He  next  summoned  the  landowners 
of  Fife  to  meet  him  at  Falkland,  on  Monday  the  3ist  May, 
ostensibly  to  consider  public  affairs,  but  with  the  actual  pur- 
pose of  apprehending  those  persons  whose  enmity  he  most 
dreaded,  among  whom  were  Norman  Leslie,  John  Leslie,  his 
uncle,  Kirkaldy  of  Grange,  and  Learmont  of  Balcomie. 

His  purpose  was  anticipated.  On  the  evening  of  Friday 
the  28th  of  May,  Norman  Leslie,  with  several  followers, 
entered  St  Andrews,  and  proceeded  to  his  usual  inn.  Kirk- 
aldy, younger  of  Grange,  had  arrived  previously ;  and  John 
Leslie,  whose  hostility  to  the  cardinal  was  well  known, 
came  during  the  night.  Next  morning  the  conspirators  and 
their  followers,  numbering  sixteen  persons,  walked  in  detached 
groups  in  the  grounds  of  the  cathedral.  On  a  signal  that  the 
drawbridge  was  lowered  to  admit  the  workmen,  Norman 
Leslie  and  his  followers  entered  the  castle.  Engaging  the 
porter  in  conversation,  he  enabled  James  Melville  of  Raith 
and  William  Kirkaldy  to  cross  the  drawbridge  unobserved. 
When  John  Leslie  came  up,  the  porter  attempted  to  secure 
the  portcullis,  but  was  struck  down.  Finding  the  castle  in 
possession  of  an  armed  band,  the  workmen  threw  down  their 
tools  and  dispersed.  Kirkaldy  guarded  a  private  postern, 
while  his  associates  aroused  the  servants  and  conducted  them 

*  Knox's  History,  ed.  1846,  vol.  i.,  p.  172. 


316      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

from  the  stronghold.  Hearing  the  noise,  the  cardinal  threw 
open  his  window  and  inquired  the  cause.  Informed  that 
Norman  Leslie  had  taken  the  castle,  he  attempted  to  escape 
by  the  postern.  Finding  that  it  was  guarded,  he  returned 
to  his  chamber,  and  piled  the  heavier  furniture  against  the 
door.  John  Leslie  knocked  loudly,  and,  announcing  his 
name,  demanded  admission.  "  I  will  have  Norman,"  said  the 
cardinal,  "  for  he  is  my  friend."  "  Be  content  with  such  as 
are  here,"  was  the  rejoinder ;  and  on  a  call  for  fire,  the 
cardinal  opened.  John  Leslie  and  another  rushed  upon  him 
with  their  swords,  but  James  Melville  entreated  them  to 
pause,  and  adjured  the  cardinal  to  prepare  for  death.  He 
especially  exhorted  him  to  repent  of  the  murder  of  Wishart, 
for  which  the  Divine  vengeance  had  now  overtaken  him. 
The  conspirators  then  fell  upon  him  with  their  swords.  His 
last  words  were,  "  Fy,  fy,  I  am  a  priest,  all  is  gone."  * 

The  events  of  the  morning  were  a  terrible  sequel  to  the 
auto-da-fe  of  March.  The  citizens  were  in  consternation. 
The  provost  convened  the  town  council,  and,  proceeding  to 
the  ramparts  of  the  castle,  inquired  whether  the  cardinal  was 
alive.-f-  The  answer  was  that  he  was  dead,  and,  in  hideous 
evidence  of  the  fact,  his  dead  body  was  suspended  on  the 
wall.  Not  long  afterwards  was  formed,  within  the  castle,  the 
first  congregation  of  the  Protestant  Church  in  Scotland. 

Though  neither  the  first  nor  last  of  those  who  suffered, 
George  Wishart  rendered  to  the  cause  of  the  Reformation  in 
Scotland  real  and  important  service.      Through  his  instru- 
mentality John  Knox  was  led  to  exchange  the  retired  life  of 
a  private  tutor  for  that  of  a  public  teacher  of  the  Protestant 
doctrines.     Though  his  ministry  was  of  short  duration,  he 
lived  at  a   time  when   men,  who  resisted   prevailing   error 
accomplished,  within  a  few  months,  the  work  of  a  generation 
In  Dundee   his   fervent   preaching  was    long    gratefully  re- 
membered.    The  singular  devotedness  of  the  Covenanters 

*  Knox's  History,  ed.  1846,  vol.  i.,  pp.  173-177. 

f  /£.,  vol.  i.,  p.  178;  Bishop  Lesley's  History  of  Scotland,  Edin.,  1830,  410, 
p.  19. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  317 

of  Ayrshire  was  not  more  derived  from  the  early  confession 
of  the  Lollards  of  Kyle,*  than  from  the  example  and  preaching 
of  George  Wishart. 

Wishart's  character  is  celebrated  by  John  Johnstone,  in  the 
following  epigram : 

"  Quam  bene  conveniunt  divinis  nomina  rebus 

Divinae  hie  Sophiae  corque  oculusque  viget 
Qui  Patris  arcanam  Sophiam,  ccelique  recessus, 

Corde  fovens  terris  Numina  tanta  aperit 
Unus  amor  Christus.     Pro  Christo  concitus  ardor 

Altius  humanis  Enthea  corda  rapit, 
Prseteritis  aptans  prsesentia  judicat  omnia 

Et  ventura  dehinc  ordine  quseque  docet 
Ipse  suam  mortem  tempusque  modumque  profatur 

Fataque  carnifici  tristia  sacrilego 
Terrificam  ad  flammam  stat  imperterritus.     Ipsa 

Quin  stupet  invictos  sic  pavefacto  animos 
Ut  vix  ausa  dehinc  sit  paucos  carpere.     Tota 

Ilicet  innocui  victa  cruore  viri  est."+ 

Describing  Wishart  as  in  the  pulpit  alike  uncompromising 
in  the  exposure  of  error  as  in  reproving  those  who  rejected 
the  Gospel  message,  Knox  expatiates  on  the  gentleness  of 
his  private  life.  Tylney,  who  was  his  pupil  at  Cambridge, 

*  Calderwood's  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  vol.  i. ,  p.  49. 
t  MS.  Poems  of  John  Johnstone,  in  the  Advocates  Library,  Edinburgh.     A 
portion  of  the  epigram  has  thus  been  rendered  by  an  ingenious  friend  : 

"  How  good  a  thing  it  is  in  one  to  find, 
His  name  the  mirror  of  a  virtuous  mind  ; 
And  well  may  Wishart  claim  the  spotless  heart 
Where  heavenly  wisdom  breathes  in  every  part ; 
Christ  his  sole  love,  he  doth  unfold  the  store, 
Of  all  his  bosom  holds  of  sacred  lore. 
Celestial  themes  are  his,  and  he  displays 
The  hidden  mystery  of  the  Father's  ways  ; 
Fired  with  the  love  of  Christ,  his  zealous  heart 
Prophetic  soars  above  all  human  art. 

Dauntless  amidst  devouring  flames  he  stands, 
Which  shrink  as  loath  to  kiss  the  martyr's  hands  ; 
No  trembling  victim  now  attests  their  rage, 
For  fiercest  fires  doth  innocence  assuage." 


318      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

remarks  that  he  was  "  courteous  "  and  "  lowly."  To  the  poor 
at  Cambridge  he  supplied  food  and  raiment,  and  provided 
some  with  monthly,  and  others  with  weekly  donatives.  A 
diligent  instructor,  he  assisted  his  pupils  at  their  private  read- 
ings, as  well  as  in  the  public  school.  Though  of  grave  deport- 
ment, his  manners  were  mild,  rather  than  austere.  He  was 
of  a  tall,  slight  figure,  had  a  dark  complexion,  and  wore  a  long 
beard,  and  a  small  French  cap.  He  dressed  in  "  a  fustian 
doublet,"  with  black  stockings,  and  a  frieze  gown. 

To  his  erudition  and  accomplishments  Knox  and  Tylney 
bear  strong  testimony.  The  bishops  at  St  Andrews,  who  con- 
demned him,  did  not  venture  to  meet  his  arguments.  The 
clergy  at  Bristol  attempted  his  discomfiture  only  by  violence. 
Apart  from  the  power  of  his  public  teaching,  and  the  excel- 
lence of  his  private  virtues,  he,  as  a  martyr,  holds  a  place  on 
the  roll  of  the  illustrious.  He  died  to  assert  his  testimony 
against  sacerdotal  arrogance  and  priestly  corruption,  which  are 
the  curse  of  nations.  In  his  blood  the  Scottish  Church  took 
root,  and  so  long  as  his  countrymen  cherish  Protestantism 
and  love  liberty,  his  memory  will  be  fragrant. 


THE  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH  OF  THE  CHURCHES  OF 
SWITZERLAND. 

THE  following  English  translation  of  the  first  Helvetian  Con- 
fession was  composed  by  George  Wishart.  The  original  Con- 
fession was  under  the  direction  of  a  conference  held  at  Basel 
in  January  1536,  prepared  in  Latin  by  the  Reformers  Bui- 
linger,  Myconius,  Grynaeus,  Leo  Juda,  and  Grossmann.  In 
the  following  March  it  received  the  united  sanction  of  the 
representatives  of  the  different  Swiss  churches  at  a  second 
conference  at  Basel.  In  versions  of  Latin  and  German  it  was 
submitted  to  an  assembly  at  Wittenberg  by  Bucer  and  Capito, 
and  also  to  the  Protestant  princes  at  the  meeting  at  Smalkald 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  319 

in  February  1 5  37,  and  was  on  both  occasions  approved.  Subse- 
quent to  the  latter  event,  Wishart  produced  his  English  trans- 
lation. From  a  unique  copy,  formerly  in  the  possession  of  Mr 
Richard  Heber,  Wishart's  version  has  been  reprinted  in  the 
"Miscellanyof  the Wodrovv Society."  From  thatwork  it  is  trans- 
ferred to  these  pages.  The  original  is  a  tract  of  fifteen  leaves 
octavo,  in  black  letter.  There  is  no  date  or  printer's  name,  but 
it  is  believed  to  have  been  printed  at  London  by  Thomas 
Raynalde  about  the  year  1548.  The  title-page  is  inscribed  : 

"  This  confescione  was  fyrste  wrytten  and  set  out  by  the  ministers 
of  the  churche  and  congregacion  of  Sweuerland,  where  all  godlynes 
is  receyued,  and  the  worde  hadde  in  most  reuerence,  and  from  thence 
was  sent  unto  the  Emperour's  maiestie,  then  holdynge  a  gryat  counsell 
or  parliamet  in  the  yeare  of  our  Lord  God,  Md  cxxxvii  in  the 
moneth  of  February.  Translated  out  of  laten  by  George  Usher  a 
Scotchman,  who  was  burned  in  Scotland,  the  yeare  of  our  lorde 
Mv  c  xlvi. 

"  OF  THE  HOLY  SCRYPTURE. 

"  The  Canonycall  or  holy  Scrypture,  whiche  is  the  Worde  of  God, 
taught  and  gyven  by  the  Holy  Spryte,  and  publyshed  unto  the 
worlde  by  the  prophetes  and  holy  apostles,  which  also  is  the  moost 
perfyte  and  auncient  science  and  doctryne  of  wysdome,  it  alone  con- 
tayneth  consumatly  all  godlynes  and  all  sorte  and  maner  of  facyon 
of  lyfe. 

"  OF  THE  EXPOSICION  OF  SCRYPTURE. 

"  The  interpretacion,  or  exposicion  of  this  holy  wrytte,  ought  and 
shuld  be  sought  out  of  it  selfe,  so  that  it  shulde  be  the  owne  inter- 
pretour,  the  rule  of  charite  and  faythe  hauynge  gouernaunce. 

"  OF  MANNES  TRADICIONS. 

"  As  to  other  thyngs,  of  Tradicions  of  men,  howe  bewtifull  and  how 
moch  receyued  soeuer  they  be,  what  so  euer  tradicions  withdraweth 
us  and  stoppeth  us  fro  the  Scripture,  of  such  do  we  answere  the 
sayinges  of  the  Lorde,  as  of  thyngs  hurtfull  and  unprofytable,  '  They 
worshippe  me  in  vayne,  teachying  the  doctrynes  of  man.'  Mathi.  15. 


320      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 
"  OF  THE  HOLY  FATHERS. 

"  For  the  whiche  sorte  of  interpretacyon  so  farre  as  the  Holy 
Fathers  hathe  not  gone  fro  it,  not  onely  do  we  receyue  them  as  inter- 
pretones  of  the  Scripture,  but  also  we  honour  and  worshyp  them  as 
chosen  and  beloued  instrumentes  of  God. 

"  THE  ENDE  AND  ENTENTE  OF  THE  SCRYPTURE. 

"  The  pryncypal  entent  of  al  the  Scripture  canonicall  is,  to  declare 
that  God  is  beniuolent  and  frendly  mynded  to  mankynde  ;  and  that 
he  hathe  declared  that  kyndnes  in  and  throughe  Jesu  Chryste  his 
onely  sone  :  the  which  kyndnes  is  receyuyd  by  fayth  ;  but  this  fayth 
is  effectuous  through  charitie,  and  expressed  in  an  innocent  lyfe. 

"  OF  GOD. 

"  Of  God  we  byleive  in  this  sorte  :  that  he  is  almyghtie,  beynge 
one  in  substance,  and  thre  in  persones  :  which  euen  as  he  hathe 
created  by  his  Worde,  that  is  his  Sone,  all  thynges  of  nothynge  ;  so 
by  his  Spirite  and  prouydence  gouerns  he,  preserues,  and  norysheth 
he,  most  truly,  ryghtously,  and  wysely  all  thynges. 

"  OF  MAN. 

"  Man,  whiche  is  the  perfectest  image  of  God  in  earthe,  and  also 
is  the  chefe  dignite  and  honoure  amonge  all  creatures  visible,  beynge 
made  of  soule  and  body ;  of  the  whiche  twayne  the  body  is  mortall, 
the  soule  immortall ;  whan  he  was  creat  of  God  holy,  by  fallynge  in 
vyce  and  synne  throughe  his  owne  fal,  drew  with  hym  in  that  same 
ruen  and  fal,  and  so  subjected  all  mankynde  to  the  same  calamitie  and 
wretchydnes  that  he  fell  in. 

"  OF  ORIGINAL  SYNNE. 

"  And  so  this  pestiferous  infection  whiche  men  calleth  Originall, 
hathe  infecte  and  ouerspred  the  whole  kynde  of  man,  so  far  that  by 
no  helpe  (he  beynge  the  sone  of  wrathe  and  vengaunce  and  enemye 
of  God)  coulde  be  healed  by  any  means  but  by  the  helpe  of  God  onely : 
for  yf  there  be  any  good  that  remayneth  in  man  after  the  fall,  that  same 
beynge  joyntelie  made  weaker  and  weaker  by  our  vyce  tournes  to  the 
worse ;  because  the  strengthe  and  power  of  euyll  ouercometh  it,  and 
nother  suffereth  it  us  to  folowe  reason  nor  yet  to  exersyse  the  godly- 
nes  of  our  mynde. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  321 

"  OF  FREWYLL. 

"  Wherfore  we  attribute  so  free  wyll  to  man  as  we  whiche  wyttynge 
and  wyllynge  to  do  good,  fele  experience  of  euyll.  Also  euyll  trewly  we 
maye  do  of  oure  owne  wyll,  but  to  embrace  and  folowe  good  (except 
we  be  elluminat,  styred  up  and  mounted,  by  the  grace  of  Chryst)  we 
maye  not :  for,  '  God  is  he  whiche  worketh  in  us  bothe  to  wyll,  to 
performe,  and  to  accomplyshe  for  his  owne  good  wyll  sake  ; '  and  of 
God  commeth  our  helth  and  saluacion,  but  of  our  selfe  commeth  per- 
dicion. 

"  OF  THE  ETERNAL  MYNDE  OF  GOD  TO  RESTORE  MAN. 

"  And  howbeit  that  through  his  fault  man  was  subjecte  unto 
dampnacion,  and  also  was  runne  under  the  juste  indingnacion  of  God 
to  take  vengeaunce  of  hym,  yet  God  the  father  neuer  seaced  to  take  a 
mercyfull  care  ouer  hym  :  The  whiche  thynge  is  manifest  not  onely 
of  the  fyrst  promyses  and  the  whole  lawe,  whiche  as  it  is  holy  and 
good,  teaching  us  the  wyll  of  God,  ryghtuousnes,  and  truthe,  so 
worketh  it  wrath  and  storeth  up  synne  within  us,  and  slacketh  it  not, 
and  that  not  through  any  faulte  of  it  selfe,  but  through  our  vyce,  but 
also  clerely  appereth  it  through  Christ,  whiche  was  ordayned  and 
geuen  for  that  purpose. 

"  OF  JESUS  CHRIST  AND  THAT  IS  DONE  BY  HYM. 

"  This  Christ,  the  very  Sone  of  God,  and  very  God  and  very  man 
also,  was  made  our  brother,  at  the  tyme  appoynted  he  toke  upon 
him  whole  man,  made  of  soule  and  body,  hauynge  two  natures  un- 
permyxte  and  one  dewyne  person,  to  the  intent  that  he  shoulde  restore 
unto  lyfe  us  that  were  deed,  and  make  us  aryse  of  God  annexte  with 
hym  selfe.  He  also  after  that  he  had  taken  upon  him  of  the  im- 
maculate Virgin,  by  operacion  of  the  Holy  Goost,  fleshe,  whiche  was 
holy  bycause  of  the  union  of  the  Godhed,  which  is,  and  also  was 
lyke  to  our  fleshe  in  all  thynges  excepte  in  synfulnes  :  And  that 
bycause  it  behoued  the  sacrefice  for  synne  to  be  cleane  and  immacu- 
late, gaue  that  same  fleshe  to  death  for  to  expell  all  our  synne  by  that 
meanes.  And  he  also,  to  the  entent  that  we  shuld  have  one  full  and 
perfecte  hope  and  trust  of  our  immortalitie,  hath  raysed  up  agayne 
fro  death  to  lyfe  his  owne  fleshe,  and  hath  set  it  and  placed  it  in 
heauen  at  the  ryghte  hande  of  his  Almyghty  Father. 

"  And  there  he  sytteth  our  victorious  champion,  our  gyder,  our 


322      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

capitayne,  and  heed,  also  our  hyghest  bysshop  in  dede,  synne,  death, 
and  hell,  beynge  victoriously  ouercome  by  him,  and  defendeth  oure 
cause,  and  pleadeth  it  perpetually  untyll  he  shall  reforme  and  fascion 
us  to  that  lykenes  to  whiche  we  were  create,  and  brynge  us  to  be  par- 
takers of  eternall  lyfe.  And  we  loke  for  hyrn,  and  beleueth  that  he 
shall  come  at  the  ende  of  all  ages  to  be  our  trewe  ryghtuous  just 
Judge,  and  shall  pronounce  sentence  agaynst  all  fleshe,  whiche  shal 
be  raysed  up  before  to  that  judgement,  and  that  he  shall  exalte  the 
godly  aboue  the  heauens,  but  the  ungodly  shall  he  condempne  bothe 
body  and  soule  to  eternal  destruction. 

"  And  as  he  onely  is  oure  mediatour  and  entercessour,  hoste  and 
sacrifice,  bysshop,  lorde,  and  our  kynge  ;  also  do  we  acknowlage 
and  confesse  hym  onely  to  be  our  attonement  and  raunsome,  satis- 
faction, expiacion,  or  wysdome,  our  defence,  and  our  onely  deliuerer  : 
refusyng  utterly  all  other  meane  of  lyfe  and  saluacion,  excepte  thus 
by  Chryst  onely. 

"  THE  ENDE  OF  THE  PREACHYNGE  OF  THE  GOSPELL. 

"  And  therefore  in  the  whole  doctryne  of  the  Euangelystes  annun- 
ciat  and  shew  to  be  the  fyrste,  and  chefely  to  be  inculcated  and 
taught,  that  we  are  safe  onely  by  the  marcie  of  God,  and  merite  of  our 
Sauiour  Christ.  And  that  men  may  perceyue  and  understande  the 
better,  howe  necessary  is  the  mercie  of  God  and  Christes  merites  for 
them,  theyr  synnes  shuld  be  clerely  shewed  to  them  by  the  lawe,  and 
remission  by  Christes  death. 

"  OF  FAITH  AND  OF  THE  POWER  OF  IT. 

"  And  these  so  godly  benefites,  with  the  very  sanctificacion  of  the 
Holy  Spirite,  do  we  optayne  by  fayth,  the  very  trewe  gyfte  of  God, 
and  not  throughe  any  other  power  or  strength  of  ourselues  or  merytes. 

"  Whiche  faythe  is  one  certayne  and  undouted  substance  and 
aprehensyon  of  all  thynges  that  we  hope  for  to  come  of  the  kyndnes 
of  God,  and  it  cometh  firste  out  of  the  selfe  charitie,  it  worketh  noble 
frutes  of  al  virtues  :  yet  notwithstandynge  we  attribute  no  thyng  to 
the  dedes,  althoughe  they  be  godly,  yet  be  they  mennes  workes  and 
actes  ;  but  the  helthe  and  saluacion  that  is  optayned,  we  attribute  to 
the  grace  of  God  onely :  And  truely  this  worshypynge  alone  is  the 
very  trewe  worshypynge  of  God  ;  faythe  I  meane  mooste  pryngnaunt 
and  plentifull  of  good  workes,  without  any  confydence  in  the  workes. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  323 

"  OF  THE  CONGREGATION  OR  CHURCHE. 

"  Also  we  holde,  and  belewe,  that  the  Churche,  whiche  is  the  con- 
gregacion  and  eleccion  of  all  holy  men,  whiche  also  is  the  spouse  of 
Christ,  whom  he  shall  presente  without  spot  unto  his  Father,  washynge 
it  in  his  owne  blode,  is  of  suche  lyuely  stones  aforesayd  layde  upon 
this  lyuely  rock  on  this  maner. 

"  The  whiche  Churche,  howbeit  it  be  euydently  knowne  onely  to 
the  eyes  of  God,  yet  be  certayne  externall  rytes,  institute  by  Christ, 
and  be  one  publyke  and  lawful  teachynge,  teachynge  of  the  Worde 
of  God,  not  onely  as  it  spyed  and  knowen,  but  it  is  also  so  con- 
stituted by  them,  that  without  the  cerimonies  there  is  no  man 
reconed  to  be  of  it,  excepte  it  be  by  a  synguler  preuilege  of  God. 

"  THE  MINISTERS  OF  THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 

"  And  for  this  cause  we  graunte  the  Ministers  of  the  Church  to  be 
cooperators  of  God,  as  Paule  calleth  them,  by  whome  God  geueth 
and  ministreth  both  knowledge  of  our  selfe,  and  remission  of  synne, 
and  conuerteth  men  to  hym  selfe,  rayseth  them  up  and  comforteth 
them,  affrayeth  them  also,  and  judgeth  them;  but  so  that  the  vertue  and 
efficacie  thereof  we  ascrybe  also  to  the  Lorde,  and  the  ministracion  of 
the  sacramentes.  For  it  is  manifest  that  this  efficacie  and  powre  is 
not  bounde  nor  knytte  to  any  creature,  but  is  dyspensed  lyberally  and 
frely,  whosoever,  and  whensoever,  he  shall  please,  for,  '  He  that 
watereth  is  nothynge,  nor  yet  is  he  that  planteth  any  thynge,  but  he 
that  geueth  the  encreasment,  whiche  is  God.' 

"  THE  POWER  OF  THE  CHURCHE. 

"  The  aucthoritie  to  preache  Goddes  Worde,  and  to  feede  the 
Lordes  flocke,  the  whiche  properly  is  the  Power  of  the  Keyes,  pre- 
scribynge  and  commaundyng  all  men,  bothe  hye  and  lowe,  all  lyke, 
shulde  be  holy  and  inuiolat ;  and  shulde  be  committed  onely  to 
them  that  are  mete  therfore  :  and  chosen  other  by  the  eleccion  of 
God,  or  elles  by  a  sure  and  aduysed  eleccion  of  the  Churche ;  or  by 
theyr  wyll,  to  whom  the  Churches  depute  and  apoynt  that  offyce  of 
chosynge. 

"  THE  CHOSYNGE  OF  MINISTERS  OR  OFFICERS. 

"  This  ministracion  and  offyce  shulde  be  graunted  to  no  man  but 
to  him  whom  the  ministers  of  the  Churche,  and  they  unto  whom  the 


324      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

charge  is  gyuen  by  the  Churches,  and  found  judged  to  be  of  know- 
lage  in  the  law  of  God  and  of  innocent  lyfe.  The  whiche  seynge  it 
is  the  very  eleccion  of  God,  it  is  well  and  justlye  approued  by  the 
voyce  of  the  Churche,  and  the  imposicion  of  handes  of  the  heedes  of 
the  preestes. 

"  THE  HEED  AND  SHEPHERD  OF  THE  CHURCHE. 

"  Christe,  verely,  hym  selfe  is  the  very  trewe  heed  of  his  churche 
and  congregacion,  and  the  onely  pastor  and  heed  ;  and  he  also 
geueth  presydentes,  heedes,  and  teachers,  to  the  entent  that  in  the 
externall  administracion  they  shulde  use  the  power  of  the  churche 
well  and  lawfully  :  Wherfor  we  knowe  not  them  that  are  heedes 
and  pastors  in  name  onely,  nor  yet  the  Romenishe  heedes. 

"  THE  DUTIE  OF  MINISTERS  OR  OFFICERS. 

"The  chefe  and  pryncypall  offyce  of  this  ministracion  is  to  preache 
repentaunce  and  remission  of  synne  through  Jesu  Christe ;  to  praye 
continually  for  the  people ;  to  geue  diligence  wholy  to  holy  stodyes 
and  to  the  Worde  of  God,  and  resyst  and  pursue  the  deuyll  alway 
with  the  Word  of  God,  as  withe  the  sworde  of  the  Spirite,  and  that 
with  a  deadly  hatered,  and  by  all  meanes  to  chasten  him  awaye  ;  to 
defende  the  holy  citezens  of  Christe.  And  by  all  meanes  compell  and 
reproue  the  fautie  and  vicious  ;  and  to  exclude  from  the  churche 
them  that  stereth  to  farre,  and  that  by  a  godly  consente  and  agre- 
ment  of  them  whiche  are  chosen  of  the  ministers  and  magistrates  for 
correcyon,  or  to  ponyshe  them  by  any  other  waye  conuenient  and 
profytable  meanes,  so  longe  untyll  they  come  to  a  mendement,  and  so 
be  safe :  for  this  is  the  returnynge  of  the  churche  agayne,  for  one 
suche  citizen  of  Chryst,  yf  he  acknowlage  and  confesse  his  erroure 
with  conuerted  mynde  and  lyfe,  for  all  this  doctryne  seketh  and 
wylleth,  that  we  requyre  wyllynge  and  helthefull  correccion,  exhi- 
larite,  or  comforte  all  godly  by  a  newe  studdy  of  godlynes. 

"  OF  THE  POWER  OR  STRENGTHE  OF  SACRAMENTES. 

"There  is  twayne  whiche  are  named  in  the  Church  of  God  Sacra- 
mentes,  Baptisme,  and  Howslynge  :  these  be  tokens  of  secrete  thynges, 
that  is,  of  godly  and  spirituall  thynges,  of  whiche  thynges  they  take 
the  name,  are  not  of  naked  sygnes,  but  they  are  of  sygnes  and  verities 
together.  For  in  Baptisme  the  water  is  the  sygne,  but  the  thynge 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  325 

and  verytie  is  regeneracyon,  and  adopcion  in  the  people  of  God.  In 
the  Howslynge  and  Thankes  gyuynge,  the  bread  and  the  wyne  are 
sygnes,  but  the  thynge  and  veritie  is  the  communion  of  the  body  of 
our  Lorde ;  helthe  and  saluacion  founde,  and  remyssyon  of  synnes  ; 
the  whiche  are  receyuyed  by  faythe  even  as  the  sygnes  and  tokens 
are  receyued  by  the  bodely  mouth. 

"  Wherfore  we  affyrme  the  Sacramentes  not  onely  to  be  badges 
and  tokens  of  Christian  societie,  but  to  be  also  sygnes  of  the  grace 
of  God,  by  the  whiche  the  ministers  worketh  withe  God,  to  the  ende 
that  the  promyse  bryngeth  the  worke  to  passe ;  but  so  as  is  afore- 
sayde  of  the  ministracion  of  the  worde,  that  all  the  same  powre  be 
ascribed  to  the  Lorde. 

"  OF  BAPTISM. 

"  We  affyrme  Baptism  to  be  by  the  institucion  of  the  Lorde,  the 
lauer  of  regeneracion,  the  whiche  regeneracion  the  Lorde  exhibiteth  to 
his  chosen  by  a  visible  sygne  by  the  ministracion  of  the  congrega- 
cion,  as  is  aforesayde.  In  the  whiche  holy  lauer  we  wasshe  oure 
infantes,  for  this  cause,  because  it  is  wyckednes  to  rejecte  and  cast 
out  of  the  felowshyp  and  company  of  the  people  of  God  them  that 
are  borne  of  us,  whiche  are  the  people  of  God,  excepte  them  that  are 
expressely  commaunded  to  be  rejected  by  the  voyce  of  God ;  and 
for  this  cause  chefely,  bycause  we  shulde  not  presume  ungodly  of 
theyr  election. 

"  OF  THE  SACRAMENT  OF  THE  AULTER. 

"  But  the  mtsticall  supper  is  in  the  whiche  the  Lorde  offereth  his 
body  and  his  blode,  that  is,  his  owne  selfe,  verely,  to  his  owne,  for 
this  entent  he  myghte  lyue  more  and  more  in  them,  and  they  in  hym. 
Not  so  that  the  body  and  blode  of  the  Lorde  are  communed  natu- 
rally to  the  bread  and  wyne,  or  closed  in  them  as  in  one  place  ;  or 
put  in  them  by  any  carnal  or  maruelous  presence ;  but  bycause  the 
body  and  blode  of  oure  Lorde  are  receyued  verely  of  one  faythful 
soule,  and  because  the  bread  and  the  wyne  by  the  institucion  of  the 
Lorde,  are  tokens  be  whiche  the  very  communion  or  participacyon  of 
the  Lordes  body  and  blode  are  exhibited  of  the  Lorde  himselfe, 
through  the  mynistracion  of  the  churche,  not  to  be  a  meat  corruptible 
of  the  body,  but  to  be  a  noryshemente  and  meat  of  eternal  lyfe. 

"  And  this  holy  meat  do  we  use  ofte  for  this  cause,  for  when 


326      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

through  the  monicion  and  rememberaunce  of  it,  we  beholde  withe  the 
eye  of  our  fayth  the  death  and  blode  of  hym  that  was  crucified,  and 
remember  cure  saluacyon  and  helthe,  not  with  out  a  taste  of  heauenly 
lyfe,  and  very  trewe  felynge  of  eternall  lyfe  :  when  we  do  this  we  are 
wonderfully  refreshed  through  this  spiritual  lyvynge  and  eternall  goode. 
And  that  with  an  unspeakable  swetnes  we  exulte  and  rejoyce  with  a 
myrth  unexpressable  in  wordes,  for  the  saluacion  that  is  founde;  and 
we  all  and  whole  are  effused  with  all  our  power  and  strength,  utterly 
in  doynge  of  thankes  for  so  wonderfull  a  benefyte  of  Christ  toward 
us. 

"  Therefore  it  is  greatly  without  cure  deservynges  that  some  aleges 
and  sayeth  of  us,  that  we  attrybute  lyttell  to  the  Holy  Sacramentes  ; 
for  they  are  holy  thynges  and  honourable,  bycause  they'are  institute 
and  ordayned  by  oure  hye  preest  Christ,  and  receyued  ;  exhybiting 
the  thinges  that  they  syngnifie  in  theyr  owne  maner  as  is  aforesayd  ; 
beynge  witnes  to  the  thinge  thet  is  done'in  dede ;  representynge  so 
hye  and  harde  thynges,  and  bryngeth  by  wonderfull  corespondence 
&  lykenes  of  similitude,  a  lyght  and  a  clerness  to  the  mynysters 
that  they  sygnifie  :  so  wholy  is  oure  beleve  and  estimacion  of  the 
Sacramentes,  but  verely  appropriattynge  the  virtue  of  quickenynge 
and  santifienge  to  hym  onely  whiche  is  lyfe,  to  whom  -be  all  honour 
&  prayse  for  ever.  Amen. 

"  OF  COMYNGE  TO  CHURCHE. 

"  We  beleve  and  thynke  the  holy  conuencions  and  gatherynges 
shulde  be  holden  on  this  maner  &  sorte  :  so  that  fyrst  chefely  and 
before  all  thynges  the  worde  of  God  be  preached  to  the  people 
openlie  in  an  open  &  publyke  place,  and  that  daylie  :  and  the  secrete 
&  obscure  places  of  the  Scripture  be  opened  &  declared  by  mete  and 
competent  men  :  And  that  by  the  Holy  Supper  of  thankes,  called 
Howselynge,  the  faithe  of  the  godlie  be  ofte  exercysed,  and  that  they 
shulde  be  contynually  in  prayer  for  all  men  &  for  the  necessities 
of  all  men.  But  the  rest  of  the  ceremonies  which  as  they  are  unprofit- 
able, so  are  they  innumerable,  as  vescels,  garmentes,  wax,  lyghtes, 
alters,  golde,  sylver,  in  so  much  as  they  serve  to  subverte  the  trewe 
religion  of  God  :  and  chefely  Idols  &  Images  that  stand  open  to  be 
worshyped,  and  geve  offence  &  slaunder ;  and  all  suche  prophane  and 
ungodlie  thynges  do  we  abandon,  reject,  &  put  away  from  the  holy 
congregacion  &  conuencion. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  327 

"  OF  HERETYCKES  &  SYSMATTYCKES. 

"  We  also  abandon  &  reject  from  our  holy  conuencions  all  them 
that  departeth  from  the  societe  &  fellowship  of  the  holy  Churche, 
and  bryngeth  in  straunge  or  ungodlie  sectes  and  opinions.  With  the 
whiche  evyll  the  Anabaptistes  are  chefly  infecte  this  tyme  :  the  whiche 
we  judge  shuld  be  constrayned  and  punished  by  the  majestrates  and 
hye  powers,  yf  they  obstinatly  do  resyst  and  wyll  not  obeye  the 
monission  of  the  Church,  and  that  for  the  intent  that  they  shulde 
not  infecte  and  corrupt  the  flocke  of  God  through  theyr  wycked 
evyll. 

"  OF  THYNGES  INDYFFERENT. 

"  The  thynges  that  are  called,  and  in  dede  also  are  indifferent, 
howbeit  a  godlie  man  may  use  them  frely,  and  in  every  place,  and 
at  all  tymes,  yet  notwythstandynge  he  shulde  use  them  with  know- 
lage  and  of  charitie  to  the  glory  of  God  trewly,  and  the  edificacion 
of  the  Churche  and  congregacion. 

"  OF  MAGISTRATES  OR  GOUERNOURS. 

"  And  seynge  euery  magistrate  and  hyghe  powre  is  of  God,  his 
chefe  and  pryncipall  office  is  (excepte  he  wolde  rather  use  tyranny)  to 
defende  the  trewe  worshipinge  of  God  from  all  blasfemy  and  to  pro- 
cure trewe  religion,  and  as  the  prophete  doth  teache  of  the  voyce  of 
God,  to  execute  for  his  powre.  In  whiche  part  a  trewe  and  syncere 
preachinge  of  the  worde  of  God  remayneth  with  a  ryghte  and  dili- 
gente  institucion  of  the  discipline  of  citezens,  and  of  the  scooles  : 
just  correcion  and  nurture,  with  liberalitie  towarde  the  mynysters  of 
the  Churche  with  a  solicitat  and  thoughtfull  charge  of  the  poore,  to 
the  whiche  ende  all  the  rychesse  of  the  Churche  is  referred.  This, 
I  saye,  hathe  the  fyrst  and  chefe  place  in  the  execution  of  the 
magistral. 

"  Then  after  to  judge  the  people  by  equall  and  godlie  lawes,  to 
exersyce  and  mayntayne  judgment  &  justice,  to  defend  the  comune- 
welthe,  and  punishe  transgressours  accordynge  to  theyr  faulte,  outher 
in  goodes,  theyr  bodies  or  theyr  lyves.  And  when  the  majestrate 
executeth  these  thynges  he  honoreth  God  as  he  shulde,  in  his  voca- 
cion,  and  we  (howbeit  we  be  free  bothe  in  our  body  and  in  all  oure 
goodes,  and  in  the  studies  of  oure  minde  and  thought  also,  with  a 
trewe  faithe)  knoweth  that  we  shulde  be  subjecte  in  holynes  to  the 


328      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

majestrate  and  shulde  keep  fydelitie  and  promes  to  hym,  so  long  as 
his  commandmentes,  statutes  and  imperes  evidently  repugneth  not 
with  Him  for  whose  sake  we  honour  and  worship  the  majestrates. 

"  OF  HOLY  MATRIMONY. 

"  We  judge  Manage,  whiche  was  instytute  of  God  for  all  men,  apte 
and  mete  therfor,  which  are  not  called  from  it  by  any  other  vocation, 
to  repugn  holyness  of  no  ordre;  the  whiche  mariage  as  the 
Churche  auctoriseth  it  &  celebrates,  so  solempniseth  it  with  orison 
&  prayer.  And  therefor  we  rejecte  &  refuse  this  monckly 
chastite,  and  all  &  hole  this  slouthful  &  sluggish  sorte  of  lyfe  of 
supersticious  men,  as  abominably e  invented  &  excogitat  thynge, 
and  abandon  it  as  a  thinge  repugnant  bothe  to  the  comune  weale 
&  to  the  Churche.  And  so  confirmeth  and  stablesseth  it,  so  it 
belongeth  to  the  magistrate  to  se  that  it  be  worth  ely  bothe  begoune 
&  worshypped  ;  &  not  broken  but  for  a  just  cause. 

"  A  DECLARACION  OR  WYTNESSYNGE  OF  OURE  MINDE. 

"  It  is  not  cure  mynde  for  to  prescribe  by  this  breefe  chapters  a 
certayne  rule  of  the  Faythe  to  all  Churches  &  congregacyones,  for 
we  know  no  outher  rule  of  fay  the  but  the  Holy  Scripture.  And 
therefore  we  are  well  contented  with  them  that  agreeth  with  these 
thynges,  howbeit  they  use  ane  other  maner  of  s'peakinge,  or  Confes- 
sion dyfferent  apartly  to  this  of  ours  in  wordes,  for  rather  shulde  the 
matter  be  consydered  then  the  wordes.  And  therefore  we  make  it 
free  for  all  men  to  use  theyr  owne  sorte  of  speakynge,  as  they  shall 
perceyue  most  profitable  for  theyr  churches  and  we  shall  use  the 
same  libertie.  And  yf  any  man  wyll  attempte  to  corrupte  the  trewe 
meanynge  of  this  cure  Confession,  he  shall  heare  both  a  confession 
and  a  defence  of  the  veritie  and  truth. 

"  It  was  oure  pleasure  to  use  these  wordes  at  this  present  tyme 
that  we  myght  declare  our  opinion  in  our  religion  &  worshipenge 
of  God. 

"  FINIS. 

"  The  Truth  wyl  have  the  upper  hande." 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  329 


GENEALOGICAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  HOUSE 
OF  WISHART. 

NlSBET's  statement  as  to  the  family  of  Wishart  having 
derived  descent  from  Robert,  an  illegitimate  son  of  David, 
Earl  of  Huntingdon,  who  was  styled  Guishart  on  account  of 
his  heavy  slaughter  of  the  Saracens,  is  an  evident  fiction.* 

The  name  Guiscard,  or  Wiscard,  a  Norman  epithet  used  to 
designate  an  adroit  or  cunning  person,  was  conferred  on 
Robert  Guiscard,  son  of  Tancrede  de  Hauterville  of  Nor- 
mandy, afterwards  Duke  of  Calabria,  who  founded  the  king- 
dom of  Sicily.  This  noted  warrior  died  on  the  2/th  July 
1085.  His  surname  was  adopted  by  a  branch  of  his  House, 
and  the  name  became  common  in  Normandy  and  throughout 
France.  Guiscard  was  the  surname  of  the  Norman  kings  of 
Apulia  in  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries. 

John  Wychard  is  mentioned  as  a  small  landowner  in  the 
Hundred  de  la  Mewe,  Buckinghamshire,  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  III.  (I2i6-i272).-f-  During  the  same  reign  and  that  of 
Edward  I.  (1272-1307),  are  named  as  landowners,  Baldwin 
Wyschard  or  Wistchart,  in  Shropshire ;  Nicholas  Wychard, 
in  Warwickshire  ;  Hugh  Wischard,  in  Essex ;  and  William 
Wischard,  in  Bucks.J  In  the  reign  of  Edward  I.  Julian  Wye- 
chard  is  named  as  occupier  of  a  house  in  the  county  of 
Oxford.§ 

A  branch  of  the  House  of  Wischard  obtained  lands  in 
Scotland  some  time  prior  to  the  thirteenth  century.  John 
Wischard  was  sheriff  of  Kincardineshire  in  the  reign  of 
Alexander  II.  (1214-1249).  In  an  undated  charter  of  this 
monarch,  Walter  of  Lundyn,  and  Christian  his  wife,  grant 
to  the  monks  of  Arbroath  a  chalder  of  grain,  "  pro  sua  frater- 
nitate,"  the  witnesses  being  John  Wischard,  "  vicecomes  de 

*  Nisbet's  System  of  Heraldry,  Edin.,  1816,  folio,  vol.  i.,  p.  201. 

t  Rotuli  Hundredorum,  vol.  i.  £  Testa,  de  Nevill,  passim. 

§  Rotuli  Hundredorum,  vol.  ii.,  p.  727- 


330      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Moernes,"  and  his  son  John.*  John  Wischard  is  witness  to  a 
charter,  by  Stephen  de  Kinardley,  granting  to  the  church  of 
St  Thomas  the  Martyr,  of  Arbroath,  the  davach  of  land  in 
Kincardineshire  called  Petmengartenach.  This  charter  is 
undated,  but  as  it  contains  the  names  of  Alexander  II.  and 
his  queen  Johanna,  it  evidently  belongs  to  the  period  be- 
tween 1 22 1  and  I249.-J-  "J.  Wischard  vicecomes  de  Mernez" 
and  John,  his  son,  are  witnesses  to  a  charter  by  Robert 
Warnebald  and  Richenda  his  spouse,  granting  to  the  kirk  of 
St  Thomas  of  Arbroath,  all  their  fief  (feodum)  in  the  parish 
of  Fordun,  comprising  the  two  Tubertachthas,  Glenferkeryn, 
Kynkell,  and  Kulback  and  Monbodachyn.j  This  instrument 
is  undated,  but  there  follows  a  charter  of  confirmation  by 
Alexander  II.,  dated  2Oth  March,  in  the  twenty-fourth  year 
of  his  reign  (1238). 

John  Wischart,  sheriff  of  the  Mearns,  or  Kincardineshire, 
was  father  of  three  sons.  William,  the  second  son,  entered  the 
Church.  Possessing  superior  abilities  and  extensive  culture, 
he  became  Archdeacon  of  St  Andrews,  and  while  holding  that 
office  was,  in  1256,  appointed  chancellor  of  the  kingdom.  He 
was,  in  1270,  elected  Bishop  of  Glasgow,  but  in  the  same  year 
was  postulated  to  St  Andrews. §  By  the  decree  of  Pope 
Urban  IV.,  every  bishop-elect  was  required  to  proceed  to 
Rome  for  consecration,  and  Gregory  X.,  the  reigning  pontiff, 
insisted  that  this  rule  should  be  obeyed.  Disinclined  to 
undertake  the  long  and  perilous  journey,  Bishop  Wishart  des- 
patched agents  to  Rome,  begging  that  he  might  receive  con- 
secration at  home.  After  a  long  detention,  the  agents  were 
informed  that  the  papal  sanction  would  be  withheld  ;  but,  on 
the  persuasion  of  Edward  I.,  who  was  then  at  Rome,  on  his 
way  from  Palestine,  the  pontiff  consented  to  grant  the  neces- 
sary letters.|j  In  1274  Bishop  Wishart  was  consecrated  at 
Scone,  in  presence  of  the  king,  several  bishops,  and  many  of 


*  Reg.  Vetus  de  Aberbrothoc,  p.  97.         t  Ib.,  p.  179.         %  Ib.,  pp.  198,  199. 

§  Fordun,  lib.  x.,  p.  133. 

||  Spottiswoode's  History,  Edin.,  1851,  3  vols.  8vo,  vol.  i.,  p.  91. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  331 

the  nobility.  He  thereupon  resigned  his  office  of  chan- 
cellor.* 

Along  with  other  prelates  of  the  Scottish  Church,  Bishop 
Wishart  attended  a  Council  held  at  Lyons  in  1274,  when  a 
union  was  effected  with  the  Eastern  Church,  and  decrees  were 
passed  for  reducing  the  mendicant  orders,  and  abolishing 
pluralities.  The  two  latter  reforms  were  practically  un- 
availing, for,  by  payments  at  the  court  of  Rome,  mendicant 
monks  were  allowed  to  beg  as  before,  and  ambitious  clerks 
were  permitted  to  hold  as  many  benefices  as  they  could  pro- 
cure. In  1275,  Bagimund,  a  papal  nuncio,  arrived  in  Scot- 
land, and,  at  a  council  held  at  Perth,  fixed  the  value  of  Scot- 
tish benefices.-f-  The  revenues  of  the  bishopric  of  St  Andrews 
were  estimated  at  an  amount  equal  to  ^9450  of  sterling  money. 

Commended  by  the  chronicler,  Wyntoun,  Bishop  William 
Wischart  is  by  the  historian,  John  of  Fordoun,  denounced  as 
a  pluralist  and  charged  with  hypocrisy.^  Whatever  may 
have  been  his  private  character,  his  public  acts  bespeak  his 
praise,  for,  during  the  seven  years  he  held  his  bishopric,  he 
founded  at  St  Andrews  the  elegant  structure  of  the  Domini- 
can monastery,  and  in  superb  architecture  reared  the  nave 
of  the  cathedral.§  While  engaged  with  other  leading  per- 
sons in  settling  the  vexed  question  of  the  marches  between 
the  kingdoms,  he  was  seized  with  a  mortal  ailment,  and 
expired  at  Morebattle  in  1278.  His  remains  were  conveyed 
to  St  Andrews,  and  there  deposited  in  the  cathedral,  near  the 
high  altar.|| 

Adam,  third  son  of  John  Wishart,  sheriff  of  the  Mearns, 
had,  in  1272,  a  charter  of  the  lands  of  Ballandarg  and  Logic, 
in  the  county  of  Forfar,  from  Gilbert  de  Umphraville,  Earl  of 
Angus,  and  a  crown  charter  confirming  the  same,  dated  I3th 

*  Spottiswoode's  History,  Edin.,  1851,  3  vols.'Svo,  vol.  i.,  p.  92. 

t  The  table,  commonly  called  Bagiment's  Roll,  served  as  a  rule  for  the  prices 
taken  of  those  who  came  to  sue  for  benefices  at  the  court  of  Rome  (Spottis- 
woode's History,  vol.  i.,  p.  93). 

£  Fordun's  Scotichronicon,  lib.  x.,  c.  28. 

§  Wyntoun's  Chronicle,  Edin.,  1872,  vol.  ii.,  p.  258. 

11  Spottiswoode's  History,  vol.  i. ,  p.  93  ;  Wyntoun,  vol.  ii.,  p.  250. 


332      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

July  1280,  in  which  he  is  styled  "Adam  Wyschard,  filius 
Joannis."  In  1279  he  received  from  William,  Abbot  of 
Arbroath,  a  charter  of  the  lands  of  Kenny-Murchardyn,  or 
Kennyneil,  in  the  parish  of  Kingoldrum,  Forfarshire.*  From 
him  descended  the  House  of  Wishart  of  Logic  Wishart,  other- 
wise the  Wisharts  of  that  ilk.  To  this  branch  we  shall  refer 
subsequently. 

Sir  John  Wishart,  eldest  son  of  John  Wischart,  sheriff  of 
the  Mearns,  obtained  the  lands  of  Conveth  (Laurencekirk), 
Halkertoun,  and  Scottistoun,  in  the  Mearns,  from  Adam, 
Abbot  of  Arbroath.  Of  these  lands  he  had  a  charter  of 
confirmation,  dated  2ist  June  1246,  wherein  he  is  designed 
"  Johannes  Wyscard,  filius  Johannis."  By  a  legal  instrument 
addressed  to  the  Abbot  of  Arbroath,  he  became  bound  not  to 
alienate  any  portion  of  his  lands  without  the  abbot's  consent.^ 
This  instrument  is  undated,  but  appears  to  belong  to  the  year 
1260.  He  was  knighted  by  Alexander  II.,  and,  as  Sir  John 
Wishart,  is  a  witness  to  the  foundation  charter  of  the  hospital 
of  Brechin.J 

On  the  death  of  Sir  John  Wishart,  which  took  place  in  the 
reign  of  Alexander  III.,  he  was  succeeded  by  his  eldest  son, 
also  Sir  John.  This  baron,  along  with  his  son  John,  took  the 
oath  of  fealty  to  Edward  I.  at  Elgin  on  the  2Qth  July  I296.§ 
During  the  same  year  he  granted  ten  merks  out  of  the  lands 
of  Redhall  and  Balfeith,  for  support  of  the  chapel  of  St 
Thomas  the  Martyr,  in  the  cathedral  of  Brechin.||  He  died 
at  an  advanced  age. 

In  a  charter  by  Margaret,  Countess  of  Douglas,  Lady  Mar 
and  Garioch,  dated  Feast  of  the  Assumption,  1384,  John 
Wischard  is  witness  to  the  resignation  in  her  hands  of  the 
lands  of  Colehill  and  Petgoury.lT 

In  1391  Robert  III.  prohibited  Sir  William  of  Keth,  sheriff 

*  Dalrymple's  Historical  Collections,  Edin.,  1705,  p.  217;  Reg.  Vet.  de  Aberd., 
332  ;  Jervise's  Angus  and  Mearns,  p.  347. 

t  Reg.  Vet.  de  Aberbrothoc,  passim.  J  Reg.  Epis.  Brechin.,  vol.  i.,  p.  7. 

§  Ragman  Roll,  pp.  103,  109.  ||  Reg.  Epis.  Brechin.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  59-61. 

U  Reg.  Epis.  Aberd.,  p.  331. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  333 

of  Kincardineshire,  from  enforcing  payment  of  certain  fines, 
which  the  men  of  Sir  John  Wishart  were  adjudged  to  pay  in 
the  last  justiciary  circuit  held  within  his  baliary — these  fines 
amounting  to  £  14.* 

Sir  John  Wishart,  the  fifth  baron  of  certain  lands  in  Kin- 
cardineshire, is  the  first  of  his  House  styled  of  Pitarrow.  As 
"  Dominus  Joannes  Wishart  de  Pittarro,"  he,  in  1399,  entered 
into  an  indenture  with  John,  Abbot  of  Arbroath,  respecting 
the  mill  and  mill  lands  of  Conveth.  He  died  early  in  the 
reign  of  James  I.,  leaving  a  son,  who  succeeded  to  his  estate. 

Sir  John  Wischart,  second  of  Pitarrow,  went  to  France  in 
the  suite  of  the  Princess  Margaret,  when,  in  1434,  she  was 
married  to  the  Dauphin,  afterwards  Louis  XI/f*  In  1437  £8 
were  allocated  for  the  farms  of  the  lands  of  Gurdnes,  part  of 
the  manor  of  Firmartin,  granted  by  the  king  to  Sir  John 
Wishart.:}:  On  the  6th  July  1442,  "  Sir  John  Wyschart,  lord 
of  Pettarrow,  knight,"  appeared  before  the  chapter  of  Brechin, 
and  to  the  vicar-general,  in  the  absence  of  the  bishop,  pre- 
sented "  Schir  David  Wyschart "  as  his  chaplain,  endowing 
him  with  ten  merks  of  annual  rent  from  certain  lands.§  Having 
founded,  with  an  endowment  of  ten  merks  yearly,  from  the 
lands  of  Redhall  and  others,  the  chaplainry  of  St  Thomas  the 
Martyr,  in  the  cathedral  of  Brechin,  for  the  salvation  of  his 
soul,  and  that  of  Janet  (Ochterlony),  his  wife,  he,  on  the  loth 
of  August  1442,  presented  as  chaplain  "  his  well-beloved  David 
Wyschart,  to  be  admitted  thereto  after  examination." ||  In 
an  instrument  dated  i/th  November  1453,  David  Wys- 
chard  is  mentioned  as  one  of  the  vicars  or  perpetual  chaplains 
of  the  church  of  Brechin.lT 

In  1447  Alexander  Wishart  of  Pitarrow  witnesses  the 
resignation  by  William  Fullerton  of  the  lands  of  Maryton.** 
James  Wishart  of  Pitarrow,  who  had  probably  succeeded  to 

*  Rotuli  Compotorum  in  Scaccaris,  vol.  ii.,  p.  177. 

t  Chamberlain  Rolls,  ii.  117,  iii.  367. 

£  Rotuli  Compotorum  in  Scaccaris,  vol.  iii.,  p.  366. 

§  Reg.  Epis.  Brechin.,  p.  58.  ||  Ib.,  p.  59. 

!/£.,  p.  96.  **/5.,ii.  63. 


334      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

the  estate  as  a  younger  brother,  obtained  on  the  i/th  January 
1461,  a  charter  from  the  Abbot  of  Arbroath,  of  the  mill  and 
mill  lands  of  Conveth.  This  instrument  William  Ochterlony 
of  Kelly,  designed  uncle  of  James  Wishart,  subscribed  as  a 
witness.  In  1471  James  Wishart  of  Pitarrow  is  mentioned  as 
holding  the  Constable  lands  of  Brechin.  In  connection  with 
these  lands  he  is  named  in  a  charter  dated  3Oth  March  1482.* 
He  died  in  June  1491,  leaving  a  son  John,  and  a  daughter 
Marjory.  The  latter  married  Gilbert  Middleton  of  that  ilk. 
In  the  "Acta  Auditorum  "  of  1493  there  is  a  decree  respecting 
the  settlement  of  her  dowry. 

John  Wishart  of  Pitarrow  did  homage,  on  the  25th  Feb- 
ruary 1492,  to  Robert  Leighton,  Abbot  of  Arbroath,  for  his 
lands  of  Reidhall  and  others.  In  June  1493  he  is  mentioned 
in  a  decreet  of  the  Lords  of  Council.*!*  In  1499  he  appears 
to  have  suffered  forfeiture,  when  his  lands  of  Balgillo  were 
granted  to  others.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Janet,  daughter 
of  Lyndsay  of  Edzell,  with  whom  he  got  a  charter,  under  the 
Great  Seal,  of  the  lands  of  Woodtoun  and  others  in  the 
county  of  Kincardine. 

By  his  wife  Janet  Lyndsay,  John  Wishart  of  Pitarrow  had 
three  sons,  James,  John,  and  William.  John,  the  second  son, 
along  with  his  elder  brother  James,  entered  into  an  agree- 
ment respecting  certain  lands  and  other  property,  on  the  I9th 
March  1508.  William,  the  third  son,  described  as  brother- 
german  of  the  deceased  "  Master  James  Wyshart  of  Pitarrow," 
had,  on  the  28th  October  1525,  a  grant  from  the  Abbot  of 
Arbroath  of  the  ward  and  relief  of  his  brother's  lands.  James 
Wishart,  eldest  son  of  John  Wishart,  had,  as  his  first  wife, 
Janet  Lyndsay.  On  the  28th  October  1510,  a  precept  was 
granted  by  the  Abbot  of  Arbroath  for  infefting  him  and 
"  Janet  Lyndsay  his  spouse "  in  the  lands  of  Redhall,  Bal- 
feith,  and  others,  which  belonged  to  his  father,  John  Wishart 
of  Pitarrow.  On  the  I  ith  August  1511,  he  obtained  a  charter 
under  the  Great  Seal  of  the  lands  of  Carnebege,  in  the  county 
of  Kincardine.  By  James  IV.  he  was  appointed  "Justice 

*  Reg.  Epis.  Brechin.,  ii.  117.  t  Acts  of  Lords  of  Council,  1466-1494. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  335 

Clerk*  and  King's  Advocate"  in  December  1513,  offices 
which  he  retained  till  some  time  between  the  years  1520 
and  1524.  He  was  a  member  of  the  General  Council  which 
was  held  at  Perth  on  the  26th  November  1513,  to  meet 
Monsieur  Labatie  and  Mr  James  Ogilvy,  ambassadors  from 
Louis  XII.,  to  confer  respecting  the  renewal  of  the  French 
league  and  the  return  of  the  Duke  of  Albany.-}*  On  the 
1 3th  November  1516,  he  had  a  charter  of  the  lands  of  Easter 
and  Wester  Howlands,  Howlawshead,  and  others.  He  died 
before  May  1525. 

Subsequent  to  the  28th  October  1510,  and  the  3Oth  April 
1512,  James  Wishart  married  as  his  second  wife  Elizabeth 
Learmont,  a  daughter  or  near  relation  of  James  Learmont  of 
Balcomie,  in  Fife.  On  the  3Oth  April  1512,  he  received, 
along  with  "  Elizabeth  Learmont  his  spouse,"  a  royal  charter 
of  the  lands  of  Easter  and  Wester  Pitarrow,  on  the  resigna- 
tion of  his  father,  John  Wishart  of  Pitarrow,  reserving  to  his 
father,  and  Janet  Lyndsay  his  spouse,  their  "  frank  tenement 
of  the  said  lands  during  their  lives."J  Of  his  first  marriage 
were  born  two  sons,  John  and  James,  and  two  daughters, 
Janet  and  another ;  of  the  second  a  son  George,  the  future 
martyr. 

Janet,  daughter  of  James  Wishart  of  Pitarrow  by  his  first 
marriage,  espoused  James  Durham  of  Pitkerrow.  His  other 
daughter  married  George  Leslie,  third  laird  of  Pitnamoon,  by 
whom  she  had  an  only  daughter.§ 

John,  eldest  son  of  James  Wishart  of  Pitarrow,  held  a  por- 
tion of  his  lands  from  the  Abbey  of  Arbroath.  Of  that 
abbey,  David  Beaton,  the  future  cardinal,  became  commen- 
dator  in  1524.  On  the  loth  May  1525,  Beaton,  as  Abbot  of 
Arbroath,  directed  to  James  Strachan  of  Monboddo,  and 
others,  a  precept  for  infefting  John  Wishart  as  heir  to  his 
father,  James  Wishart  of  Pitarrow,  in  the  mill  and  lands  of 
Conveth  (Laurencekirk),  held  by  the  abbey  in  chief.  This 

*  Clerk  of  the  Justiciary  Court.  t  Acta  Parl.  Scot.,  vol.  ii. 

4:  Reg.  Mag.  Sig.,  lib.  xviii.,  No.  44. 

§  Colonel  Leslie's  Family  of  Leslie,  vol.  ii.,  p.  150. 


336      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

precept  is  not,  according  to  usage,  sealed  with  the  official  seal 
of  the  abbey,  but  with  the  abbot's  private  seal,  on  which  his 
family  arms  are  engraved.  Beaton  also  attaches  his  sig- 
nature, thus  :  * 


On  the  9th  February  1531,  John  Wishart  of  Pitarrow  ob- 
tained a  gift  of  the  ward  of  the  lands  of  Wester  Glenburny 
and  others  in  the  county  of  Kincardine,  which  belonged  to  the 
late  James  Wishart  of  Pitarrow,  and  Elizabeth  Learmont  his 
spouse,  conjunct  fiar  thereof — the  dues  of  which  were  in  the 
king's  hand.+ 

John  Wishart  died  unmarried,  or  without  issue.  James,  his 
younger  brother,  styled  "  of  Carnebege,"  in  the  parish  of  For- 
doun,J  married,  and  had  four  sons,  John,  James,  Alexander, 
and  George  ;  and  two  daughters,  Margaret  and  Christina. 

Margaret  Wishart  married,  first,  William  Gardyne,  younger 
of  Burrofield,  and,  secondly,  in  1560,  Alexander  Tullo,  son  of 
William  Tullo,  younger  of  Craignestoun.§  Christina  Wishart 
married  John  Wedderburn,  burgess  of  Dundee.  On  the  2Qth 
May  1571,  sasine  was  granted  on  a  precept  by  Patrick  Kin- 
naird  of  that  ilk,  in  favour  of  Christina  Wishart,  relict  of  the 
late  John  Wedderburn,  burgess  of  Dundee,  in  liferent  ;  and 
to  George  Wishart,  "  armigero  crucis  christianissimi  regis 
Galliae,"  her  brother,  of  an  annual  rent  of  £20  Scots,  furth  of 
the  corn  mill  of  Kinnaird.||  Alexander,  third  son  of  John 
Wishart  of  Pitarrow,  married  Marion,  daughter  of  Alexander 
Falconer  of  Halkerton.  On  the  2d  October  1556,  he  received 
precept  of  a  royal  charter  for  confirming  him  in  a  portion  of 

*  Eraser's  Earls  of  Southesk,  pp.  Ixv.,  Ixvi. 

t  Reg.  Sec.  Sig.,  vol.  ix.,  fol.  76.  J  Ib.,  vol.  xxvii.,  fol.  51. 

§  Matrimonial  Contract  in  Register  of  Deeds,  dated  8th  February  1560. 
||  Protocol  Register  of  Thomas  Ireland,  Notary  Public,  in  the  Town-Clerk's 
Office,  Dundee. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  337 

the  lands  of  Halkerton,  granted  him  by  Alexander  Falconer.* 
He  was,  on  the  1st  February  1562,  appointed  captain  and 
keeper  "  of  the  houses,  place,  and  fortalice  of  Badgenocht 
and  bailie  of  the  lands,  barony,  and  bounds  of  the  same."-f 
From  Sir  John  Wishart,  his  eldest  brother,  he  received,  on 
the  24th  May  1566,  precept  of  a  charter  of  the  lands  of  Car- 
nebeg,;}: in  the  county  of  Kincardine,  which  lands  were  further 
destined  to  his  brother  George.§ 

George  Wishart,  fourth  son  of  John  Wishart  of  Pitarrow, 
obtained  military  employment  in  France.  On  the  I4th  June 
1565,  sasine  proceeded  on  a  charter  granted  by  John  Wallace 
of  Craigie,  in  favour  of"  George  Wischart,  brother-german  of 
John  Wischart  of  Pitarrow,  armiger  crucis  regis  Gallics."  By 
this  charter  George  Wishart  received  the  lands  of  Westerdoid, 
in  the  lordship  of  Murlachewod  and  shire  of  Forfar.  The 
charter  is  dated  5th  June  1565,  and  on  behalf  of  George 
Wishart  sasine  is  granted  in  the  hands  of  his  attorney,  de- 
scribed as  "  George  Wishart  of  Drymme."  George  Wishart  of 
Westerdoid  died  unmarried.  On  the  5th  March  1573,  he 
nominated  his  sister,  Christina  Wishart,  relict  of  John  Wed- 
derburn,  his  cessioner,  or  residuary  legatee.  || 

John,  eldest  son  of  James  Wishart  of  Carnebeg,  and  grand- 
son of  the  justice-clerk,  succeeded  John  Wishart,  his  uncle,  in 
the  lands  and  barony  of  Pitarrow.  On  the  3d  October  1545,  he 
received  a  gift  of  the  non- entries  of  the  lands  of  Staddok- 
mure,  otherwise  Reidheuch,  and  others,  in  the  county  of  Kin- 
cardine, which  were  held  by  Queen  Mary,  by  reason  of  non- 
entry,  since  the  death  of  umquhile  Strachan.H  On 

the  24th  March  1553,  a  precept  of  charter  was  granted  to 
John  Wishart,  "son  and  heir  of  the  late  James  Wishart," 

*  Reg.  Sec.  Sig.,  vol.  xxviii.,  fol.  94^.  t  Ib.,  vol.  xxxviii.,  fol.  31. 

J  Members  of  the  family  of  Wishart,  chiefly  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits, 
resided  at  Carnebeg,  in  the  parish  of  Fordoun,  till  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century  ;  they  are  represented  by  the  Rev.  James  Wishart,  pastor  of  Toxteth 
Church,  Liverpool. 

§  Reg.  Sec.  Sig.,  vol.  xxxv.,  fol.  35. 

||  Protocol  Book  of  Thomas  Ireland,  in  Town-Clerk's  Office,  Dundee. 

If  Reg.  Sec.  Sig.,  vol.  xix.,  fol.  43. 

Y 


338      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

of  the  lands  of  Bathaggarties  and  others,  in  the  lordship  of 
Mar* 

John  Wishart  engaged,  like  his  grandfather,  in  legal 
studies.  While  prosecuting  these  studies  at  Edinburgh,  it 
is  believed  that,  through  Learmont  of  Balcomie,  he  became 
acquainted  with  Crichton  of  Brunstone,  Norman  Leslie, 
and  others,  who  were  concerned  in  a  plot  against  Cardinal 
Beaton.  In  connection  with  this  conspiracy  he,  in  April 
1544,  acted  as  messenger  between  Crichton  and  the  English 
court.  After  succeeding  to  the  paternal  estates  in  1545,  he 
seems  to  have  withdrawn  from  public  affairs  till  1557,  when 
he  joined  the  Earls  of  Argyle  and  Glencairn,  Lord  James 
Stuart,  Prior  of  St  Andrews,  and  John  Erskine  of  Dun,  in 
despatching  a  communication  to  John  Knox  at  Geneva,  invit- 
ing him  to  return  to  Scotland,  and  assuring  him  of  general 
support.  This  communication  was  dated  loth  March  1557; 
and  on  receiving  it  Knox  at  once  undertook  his  journey 
homeward.  But  at  Dieppe,  which  he  reached  in  October,  he 
was  informed  by  other  correspondents  that  the  zeal  of  the 
Scottish  Reformers  had  considerably  waned,  and  that  few 
would  imperil  their  fortunes  by  attempting  a  change.  Knox 
was  much  disheartened,  and  determined  to  return  to  Geneva. 
Before  leaving  Dieppe  he  addressed  letters  of  exhortation  to 
the  leading  Reformers,  and  private  communications  to  the 
Lairds  of  Pitarrow  and  Dun. 

On  receiving  Knox's  private  letters,  Wishart  and  Erskine 
called  together  the  leading  Reformers,  and  urged  them  to  im- 
mediate action.  The  result  was  that,  on  the  3d  December  1557, 
was  framed  that  memorable  bond  by  which  the  Reformers 
confederated  under  the  name  of  the  Congregation,  each  be- 
coming bound  to  seek  the  destruction  of  the  Romish 
Church.-f-  Of  the  Congregation  Wishart  continued  one  of 
the  leading  members.  When,  on  the  24th  May  1559,  they 
met  at  Perth,  to  devise  measures  for  resisting  the  queen 
regent,  Wishart  and  Erskine  were  deputed  to  assure  the 

*  Reg.  Sec.  Sig.,  vol.  xxvii.,  fol.  51. 

+  Knox's  History,  edit.  1846,  vol.  i.,  pp.  267-274,  337-350,  361-451. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  339 

royal  envoys  that,  while  they  cherished  no  disloyal  intentions, 
they  would  firmly  assert  their  privileges.  On  the  4th  June 
Wishart  and  Erskine  attended  a  conference  at  St  Andrews, 
with  the  Earl  of  Argyle  and  Lord  James  Stuart,  who  acted 
as  representatives  of  the  regent.  Of  this  conference  the 
result  was  favourable  to  the  Reformed  cause,  and  Knox  at 
once  commenced  his  public  exposure  of  Romish  error.  The 
first  day's  preaching  at  St  Andrews  was  followed  by  a  popular 
insurrection,  and  the  wrecking  of  the  Dominican  and  Fran- 
ciscan monasteries. 

The  queen  regent  having  at  length  consented  to  grant  to 
the  body  of  the  Congregation  freedom  of  worship,  Wishart 
joined  a  deputation  in  opening  with  her  negotiations  for  this 
purpose,  but  the  crafty  princess  withdrew  her  pledge.  Wishart, 
with  others,  resented  her  duplicity  by  subscribing  a  manifesto 
declaring  that  she  had  forfeited  her  office  as  regent.  He 
attended  the  convention  at  Berwick  in  February  1560,  when 
the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  on  behalf  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  agreed  to 
support  the  Congregation  against  the  power  of  France ;  * 
and  when  the  English  army  reached  Edinburgh  in  April,  with 
the  intention  of  expelling  the  French,  he  joined  the  nobility 
and  barons  in  hailing  their  advent,  and  pledging  cordial  co- 
operation.'f' 

In  the  Parliament  held  at  Edinburgh  on  the  ist  August 
1560,  John  Wishart  of  Pitarrow  is  named  as  one  of  the  com- 
missioners of  burghs.  By  this  Parliament,  on  the  i/th  August, 
the  Confession  of  Faith  was  ratified.!  The  government  of 
the  State  was  entrusted  to  twenty-four  persons,  eight  of  whom 
were  to  be  chosen  by  the  queen,  and  six  by  the  nobility. 
Wishart  was  one  of  those  selected  by  the  nobles.§ 

With  a  view  to  the  surrender,  by  the  Romish  clergy,  of  the 
third  portion  of  their  revenues,  Wishart  was,  in  1561,  ap- 
pointed, along  with  certain  officers  of  state,  to  prepare  a  valua- 
tion of  ecclesiastical  property.  ||  On  the  8th  February  1561-2, 

*  Knox's  History,  edit.  1846,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  45-52.  t  /£.,  pp.  61-64. 

J  Acta  Parl.  Scot.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  526.  §  Keith's  History,  p.  152. 

||  Knox's  History,  vol.  ii.,  p.  304. 


340      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

when  the  Earl  of  Murray  (Lord  James  Stuart)  was  married 
to  Agnes  Keith,  daughter  of  the  Earl  Marischal,  he  was, 
along  with  nine  other  notable  persons,  honoured  with  knight- 
hood.* On  the  1 5th  February  he  was  appointed  Comptroller 
and  Collector  -  General  of  Teinds.-f-  In  this  capacity  he 
became  paymaster  of  the  Reformed  clergy.  These  bitterly 
complained  of  their  scanty  incomes,  and  Knox  relates  that 
the  saying  prevailed,  "  The  good  Laird  of  Pitarro  was  ane 
earnest  professor  of  Christ  ;  but  the  mekle  Devill  receave  the 
Comptroller."^: 

At  the  battle  of  Corrichie,  fought  on  the  5th  November 
1562,  between  the  followers  of  the  rebel  Earl  of  Huntly  and 
the  royal  troops,  Sir  John  Wishart  was  present  and  highly 
distinguished  himself.§  In  the  Parliament  held  at  Edinburgh 
on  the  4th  June  1563,  he  was  appointed  with  others  to  decide 
as  to  those  who  should  have  the  benefit  of  the  Act  of  Oblivion, 
for  offences  committed  from  the  6th  March  1558  to  the  1st 
September  i56o.|| 

Actively  employed  in  the  State,  Sir  John  Wishart  did  not 
overlook  family  affairs.  On  the  2ist  December  1557,  he  and 
his  wife,  Janet  Falconer,  received  a  third  part  of  the  lands  of 
Halkerton.  He,  on  the  2ist  September  1563,  had  the  precept 
of  a  charter  of  the  lands  of  Enrowglass,  in  the  lordship  of 
Badenoch  and  sheriffdom  of  Inverness.^  On  the  23d  Janu- 
ary 1564,  he  received  a  charter  of  the  lands  of  Glenmuick, 
Assynt,  Glentanner,  Inchmarno,  Tullych,  Ballater,  and  others 
in  the  county  of  Aberdeen.*  *  By  a  letter  under  the  Privy 
Seal  he  was  granted,  on  the  24th  May  1565,  the  reversion  of 
the  lands  and  barony  of  Rothiemurchus,  in  the  regality  of 
Spynie  and  sheriffdom  of  Inverness,  escheat  by  the  treason 
of  the  Lord  Gordon.ff  On  the  28th  July  1565,  he  and  his 
wife  obtained  a  precept  of  charter,  in  conjunct  fee,  of  the  lands 

*  Knox's  History,  vol.  ii.,  p.  314,  note  by  Mr  David  Laing. 
t  Reg.  Sec.  Sig.,  vol.  xxxi.,  Nos.  3  and  5. 

J  Knox's  History,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  310,  311.  §  Ib.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  356. 

||  Acta  Parl.  Scot.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  536.  IT  Reg.  Sec.  Sig.,  vol.  xxxii.,  No.  4. 

**  Ib.,  No.  131^.  tt  Ib.,  vol.  xxxiii.,  No.  48. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  341 

of  Easter  and  Wester  Balfour  and  Incharbak,  in  the  county 
of  Kincardine.* 

Having  joined  the  Earl  of  Murray  in  opposing  the  marriage 
of  Queen  Mary  with  Lord  Darnley,  Sir  John  was  denounced 
a  rebel,  and  obliged  to  seek  refuge  in  England.  Conse- 
quent on  his  forfeiture,  the  rents  owing  him  by  Mr  George 
Gordon  of  Balderny  were,  on  the  26th  October  1565,  granted 
to  Mr  John  Gordon  ;-f*  and  a  debt  of  300  merks  owing  him 
by  Captain  Alexander  Crichton  of  Hallyard  was  presented 
to  the  debtor,  t  By  a  letter  under  the  Privy  Seal  Walter 
Wood  of  Balbirgenocht  obtained  the  rents  of  his  lands  of 
Pitarrow,  Easter  Pitarrow,  Wester  Mill  of  Petreny,  Pettingard- 
nave,  Little  Carnebeg,  Reidhall,  Easter  Wottoun,  Wester 
Wottoun,  Easter  Balfour,  Wester  Balfour,  Incheharbertt, 
Gallowhilton,  and  Crofts  of  Kincardine,  with  the  lands  of 
Glentanner  and  Braes  of  Mar.§ 

Sir  John  Wishart  returned  to  Scotland  after  the  slaughter 
of  David  Rizzio.  That  event  took  place  on  the  Qth  March 
1566,  and  on  the  2ist  day  of  the  same  month,  he  obtained 
the  royal  pardon  for  "  participating  with  the  Duke  of 
Chatelherault  and  Arran,  Lord  Hamilton,  in  holding  the 
castles  of  Hamilton  and  Draffan  on  the  3Oth  September 
last."  ||  On  the  24th  May  1566,  he  granted  a  precept  of 
charter  of  the  lands  of  Carnebeg,  in  the  county  of  Kincardine, 
to  his  brother-german,  Alexander  Wishart  of  Cosvell,  and 
Marion  Falconer,  his  wife,  whom  failing,  to  George  Wishart, 
his  brother-german.H 

In  1567,  Sir  John  Wishart  received  a  royal  precept 
for  confirming  a  charter  of  alienation  by  James,  Earl  of 
Murray,  of  the  lands  of  Cragane,  Cambusnakist,  Auchin- 
dryne,  Auchquhillater,  Kyndrocht,  and  others  in  the  lordship 
of  Braemar.**  The  right  of  Sir  John  to  the  possession  of 
these  lands  was  disputed  by  the  Earl  of  Mar,  who  brought 
his  claim  under  the  consideration  of  Parliament.  On  the 

*  Reg.  Sec.  Sig.,  vol.  xxxiii.,  No.  <)$b.  f  /£.,  No.  ll$b. 

J  Ib.,  No.  122.         §  Ib.,  vol.  xxxv.,  No.  45^.         ||  Ib.,  No.  I2b. 

IT  Ib     No.  35.  **  Ib.,  vol.  xxxviii.,  No.  31. 


342      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

29th  July  1567,  the  Estates  of  Parliament  recommended  a 
private  settlement.* 

In  May  1567,  Sir  John  joined  the  confederacy  against 
the  Earl  of  Bothwell.  He  was,  on  the  iQth  November  of 
the  same  year,  appointed  an  extraordinary  Lord  of  Session.^ 
In  1568  he  accompanied  the  Regent  Murray  to  York,  and 
gave  his  sanction  to  the  charges  preferred  against  Queen 
Mary.+ 

After  the  battle  of  Langside,  and  the  assumption  of  the 
regency  by  the  Duke  of  Chatelherault  (formerly  known  as  the 
Regent  Arran),  Sir  John  Wishart  attached  himself  to  the 
duke's  party  in  opposition  to  his  former  friend  and  patron, 
the  Regent  Murray.  In  the  cause  of  Queen  Mary,  he  joined 
Sir  William  Kirkaldy  in  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh,  and 
became  constable  of  the  fort.  He  was  one  of  eight  persons 
by  whose  assistance  Kirkaldy  undertook  to  hold  the  castle 
against  all  assailants.§  When  Kirkaldy  capitulated  in  May 

1573,  he   became   a  prisoner  in  the   hands   of  the    Regent 
Morton.     On  the  nth  July,  he  was  denounced  a  rebel,  and  his 
lands  and  goods  were  conferred  on  his  nephew,  "  Mr  John 
Wishart,  son  to  Mr  James  Wishart  of  Balfeith."  ||     He  was 
also  deprived  of  his  office  of  judge.     On  the  i8th  January 

1574,  he  was  re-appointed  an  extraordinary  Lord  of  Session.1l 
He  died  on  the  25th  September  1576.**      Sir  John  married 
Janet,  sister  of  Sir  Alexander  Falconer  of  Halkerton,  but  had 
no  children. 

James  Wishart,  second  son  of  John  Wishart  of  Pitarrow 
and  brother  of  Sir  John  Wishart,  received,  on  the  I4th  April 
1545,  from  Cardinal  Beaton  as  Commendator  of  Arbroath,  a 
precept  for  infefting  him  and  Elizabeth  Wood,-f"f  his  spouse, 

*  Acta  Parl.  Scot.,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  476-478. 

t  Pitmedden  MS. 

J  Memoirs  of  Sir  James  Melvil,  p.  186. 

§  Spottiswoode's  History,  Edin.,  1851,  vol.  ii.,p.  193;  Melvil's  Memoirs,  p.  241. 

||  Reg.  Sec.  Sig.,  vol.  xli.,  No.  go6. 

IT  Brunton  and  Haig's  Senators  of  the  College  of  Justice,  p.  138. 
**  Knox's  History,  ed.  1846,  vol.  ii.,  p.  311,  note  by  Mr  David  Laing. 
ft  This  gentlewoman  was  probably  a  daughter  of  David  Wood  of  Craig,  who 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  343 

in  the  town  and  lands  of  Balfeith,  in  the  barony  of  Redhall, 
regality  of  Arbroath,  and  shire  of  Kincardine.  The  precept 
bears  that  the  lands  formerly  belonged  to  John  Wishart  of 
Pitarrow,  and  were  resigned  by  him  into  the  cardinal's  hands ; 
it  is  dated  at  the  monastery  of  Arbroath,  and  subscribed 
by  the  cardinal  and  twenty-one  of  the  brethren  convened  in 
chapter.  It  is  impressed  with  the  round  seal  of  the  cardinal, 
and  counter-sealed  with  his  privy  seal  ;  it  also  bears  the  com- 
mon seal  of  the  abbey.* 

James  Wishart  of  Balfeith  died  in  April  1575.  In  his  will, 
which  was  executed  on  the  24th  April  of  that  year,  he  names 
three  sons,  John,  James,  and  Alexander,  and  five  daughters, 
Elspit,  Christian,  Jane,  Isobel/f*  and  Helen.  His  brother} 
Alexander,  styled  "  of  Carnebeg,"  subscribes  as  one  of  the 
witnesses,  and  Sir  John  Wishart,  his  eldest  brother,  is  con- 
stituted "  oversman  "  of  his  executors.^ 

John  Wishart,  eldest  son  of  James  Wishart  of  Balfeith, 
succeeded  to  the  lands  and  barony  of  Pitarrow  on  the  death 
of  his  uncle,  Sir  John  Wishart,  in  September  1576.  In  a 
Parliament  held  at  Stirling  in  1578,  of  which  he  was  a 
member,  John  Wishart  of  Pitarrow  was  nominated  one  of  the 
commissioners  for  examining  the  "  Buik  of  the  Policy  of  the 
Kirk,"  with  a  view  to  its  public  ratification.§  On  the  i6th 
February  1585,  he  was  served  heir  to  Sir  John  Wishart  in  the 
lands  of  Cairnton  and  others,  and  in  Fordoun,  a  free  burgh  of 
barony.  ||  In  1587  he  awakened  a  legal  process  against  the 
Countess  of  Murray  "  for  execution  of  a  decreet  of  war- 
randice  "  upon  the  lands  of  Strathtie'and  Braemar,  granted  to 
Sir  John  by  the  Regent  Earl  of  Murray.  In  1592  he  was 

was  Comptroller  from  1538  to  1546  (Sir  John  Scot's  Staggering  State,  Edin., 
1872,  p.  in,  note  by  Goodal). 

*  Eraser's  Earls  of  Southesk,  pp.  Ixv.,  Ixvi. 

"t*  Isobel  Wishart,  Prioress  of  the  Grey  Sisters  at  Dundee,  received  on  the  i6th 
May  1566  the  gift  of  a  nun's  portion,  "with  chalmer,  habite,  silver,  fyre,  candill, 
and  all  other  thinges  necessare  within  the  Abbey  of  North  Berwick  "  (Reg.  Sec. 
Sig.,  vol.  xxxv.,  p.  46). 

t  Edin.  Com.  Reg.,  Testaments,  vol.  iv. 

§  Acta  Parl.  Scot.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  105.  ||  Inq.  Spec.,  Kincardine,  No.  4. 


344      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

allowed  by  Parliament  to  proceed  against  the  heirs  of  the 
Earl  of  Murray,  but  at  a  Parliament  held  at  Edinburgh  on 
the  8th  June  1594,  the  proceedings  were  arrested  on  the 
grounds  that  the  earl  was  under  age,  that  the  documents  on 
which  his  defence  rested  were  burned  at  Donibristle  when  the 
late  earl  was  murdered,  and  that  the  estates  of  the  earldom 
were  heavily  encumbered.* 

In  1592  Sir  John  Wishart  of  Pitarrow  "subscribed  the 
band  anent  religion  at  Aberdeen."  He  was  in  the  same  year 
appointed  one  of  the  Earl  Marischal's  deputies,  to  apprehend 
the  Earl  of  Huntly  and  others,  for  the  burning  of  Donibristle, 
and  murder  of  the  Earl  of  Murray.  He  married  Jean, 
daughter  of  William  Douglas,  ninth  Earl  of  Angus.  A 
charter  under  the  Great  Seal,  "  Domino  Joanni  Wishart  de 
Pittarro  et  Dominae  Jeannae  Douglas  ejus  spousae  baroni- 
arum  de  Pittarro,  Reidhall,  etc.,"  is  dated  /th  April  1603.  Of 
this  marriage  were  born  four  sons,  John,  James,  William,  and 
Alexander,  and  a  daughter,  Elizabeth,  who  married  Sir 
William  Forbes,  Bart,  of  Monymusk.  Sir  John  Wishart 
died  at  an  advanced  age  before  the  3Oth  April  1607. 
According  to  Sir  John  Scot  he  lived  to  "  a  good  age  in  good 
reputation."  -f- 

John  Wishart,  eldest  son  of  Sir  John  Wishart  of  Pitarrow, 
had  at  the  university  as  his  companion,  John  Gordon,  after- 
wards Dean  of  Salisbury.  This  divine  dedicated  to  him 
in  1603  his  "Assertiones  Theologicae,"  J  in  these  commen- 
datory terms : 

"  Nobili  &>  generoso  juueni  JOANNI  SOPHOCARDIO  Pittarroensi, 
Joannes  Gordonius  Brittanno-Scotus,  S.  P.  D. 

"Hisce  diebus  elapsis  (Sophocardi  amicissime)  du  animi  oblectandi 
gratia  musaeolum  nostrum  inuiseres,  de  controuersijs  religionis  nostri 

*  Acta  Parl.  Scot.,  vol.  lv.,  p.  80. 

+  Scot's  Staggering  State,  Edin.,  1872,  p.  ill. 

I  The  full  title  is,  "Assertiones  Theologicae  pro  vera  verse  Ecclesise  Nota,  quse 
est  solius  Dei  Adoratio  :  contra  falsae  Ecclesias  Creaturarum  Adorationem. 
Rupell,  1603."  The  work  is  extremely  rare.  A  copy  is  preserved  in  the  Bodleian 
Library. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  345 

saeculi  agere  caepisti,  &  argumenta  in  medium  proponere  quibus 
nituntur  nostrates  pontificis  Romani  emissarij  animum  tuum  ad 
Romana  deliria  allicere,  quae  pro  tenuitate  mea  diluere  sategi 
hinc  mihi  in  animum  venit  breuiusculas  assertiones  ex 
lucubrationib.  nostris  Theologicis  colligere,  per  quas  rationibus 
solidissimis  euincimus  Episcopos  &  doctores  pontificios  in  Gen- 
tilium,  Arrianorum,  Nestorianorum,  &  Eutychianorum  errores 
blasphemes  dilapsos  esse,  adeb  vt  externae  ordinationis  Episcopalis 
character,  quern  superb^  jactitant,  per  doctringe  corruptelam  irritus 
&  inanis  euasit ;  ac  proinde  nullam  verge  Ecclesiae  notam  reliquam 
penes  aulse  Romanae  adulatores  permansisse.  Tu  verb  pro  ingenita 
animi  tui  sinceritate  &  zelo  glorias  Dei  efflagitasti  vt  has  easdem 
assertiones  in  publicam  Ecclesiae  Dei  vtilitatem  emitterem,  vt  illis 
adolescentium  nostratium  animi  praemuniantur,  tanquam  amuleto 
contra  Idolomaniam  pontificiam,  quae  passim  grassatur,  &  in- 
numeram  mortalium  multitudinem  ad  animarum  naufragium  impellit, 
du  splendore  honorum  &  diuitiarum  fulgore  mentis  oculos  illis 
perstringit,  vt  caduca  bona  solidis  &  aeternis  anteferant.  Accipe 
ergo,  mi  Sophocardi,  has  assertiones  quibus  conficiendis  ansam 
praebuisti,  vt  non  tibi  solum,  sed  &  Christianis  omnibus  qui  seruari 
expetunt  prosint :  &  memoriam  Georgij  Sophocardij  patrui  tui 
magni  in  scrinio  pectoris  reconde ;  qui  pro  veritate  Christiana  fortiter 
strenu&q  dimicans,  impia  pseudo  Episcoporum  condemnatione,  qui 
tune  rerum  potiebantur  apud  Scotos,  flammis  olim  traditus,  nunc 
fruitur  splendore  praesentiae  Christi,  pro  cuius  gloria  propaganda  nee 
facultatibus  nee  vitae  pepercit.  Vale." 

This  dedication  may  be  rendered  thus  : 

"  To  the  noble  and  excellent  young  gentleman,  JOHN  WISHART  of 
the  House  of  Pitarrow,  John  Gordon,  a  Scottish  Briton, 
presents  a  hearty  salutation. 

"  In  former  days,  dearest  Wishart,  when  you  attended  our  debating 
society,  you  discussed  the  religious  controversies  of  the  time,  and 
reviewed  the  arguments  by  which  emissaries  of  the  priesthood  sought 
to  render  attractive  the  foolish  doctrines  of  the  Romish  Church. 
These  arguments,  though  with  less  ability,  I  have  endeavoured  to 
expound.  And  it  has  occurred  to  me  to  select  from  our  theological 
conversations  some  brief  propositions  ;  by  which,  on  substantial 


346      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

grounds,  we  demonstrate  that  the  bishops  and  learned  men  of  Rome 
had  lapsed  into  the  degrading  errors  of  the  heathens,  and  of  the 
Arians,  Nestorians,  and  disciples  of  Eutychus ;  so  that  episcopal 
ordination,  in  which  they  rejoice,  has  through  the  corruption  of  their 
doctrines  become  foolish  and  absurd.  In  the  present  aspect  of  the 
papacy  those  corrupt  persons  have  left  no  trace  of  the  true  Church. 
Through  kindly  feeling,  and  in  your  zeal  for  God's  glory,  you  have 
urged  me  to  publish  these  propositions  ;  so  that  our  youths  might 
be  fortified  against  papal  idolatry,  which  is  spreading  everywhere, 
and  wrecking  men's  souls,  while  dazzling  them  with  the  glare  of 
worldly  honour,  and  the  fleeting  splendour  of  terrestrial  opulence. 
These  propositions,  originated  in  your  own  suggestions,  accept, 
dear  Wishart,  so  that  they  may  profit  not  yourself  only,  but  all  who 
desire  help.  And  in  the  treasury  of  your  heart  cherish,  I  pray 
you,  the  memory  of  your  great  paternal  uncle,  George  Wishart;  who, 
after  faithfully  upholding  the  cause  of  Christian  truth  against  false 
bishops,  then  all-powerful  in  Scotland,  was  betrayed  to  the  flames, 
and  who  now  rejoices  in  the  bright  presence  of  Christ,  for'the  main- 
tenance of  whose  glorious  doctrines  he  gave  up  his  life." 

About  the  year  1582,  John  Wishart  married  a  daughter  of 
Forrester  of  Garden,  Stirlingshire — a  union  which,  according  to 
Scot  of  Scotstarvet,*  was  most  obnoxious  to  his  father.  Of 
the  marriage  were  born  two  children,  a  son  and  daughter.  The 
daughter,  whose  Christian  name  was  Margaret,  married  Sir 
David  Lindsay  of  Edzell  and  Glenesk,  who  had  in  June  1605  a 
desperate  encounter  with  his  brother-in-law,  the  young  laird 
of  Pitarrow,  at  the  Salt  Tron  of  Edinburgh.  They  fought  a 
whole  day,  and  one  Guthrie,  a  follower  of  Wishart,  was  killed, 
others  on  both  sides  being  wounded.  On  account  of  this 
public  outrage,  the  fathers  of  the  two  combatants  were  im- 
prisoned by  the  chancellor,  Archbishop  Spottiswoode,  for 
not  putting  restraint  upon  their  sons.^f*  John  Wishart's  son 
predeceased  his  father,  unmarried.  His  Christian  name  is  not 
certainly  known.:}: 

*  Sir  John  Scot  records  some  gossip  on  the  subject  of  this  union,  which  it  is 
undesirable  to  reproduce  (Scot's  Staggering  State,  ed.  1872,  p.  in). 
•f  Pitcairn's  Criminal  Trials,  vol.  iii.,  p.  6l. 
J  The  Christian  name  of  young  Wishart  was  William  or  Walter ;  the  initials 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  347 

John  Wishart  was,  on  the  3Oth  April  1607,  served  heir  to 
his  father  in  the  baronies  of  Pitarrow  and  Reidhall.*  He 
was  afterwards  knighted.  Having  become  deeply  involved, 
he  sold  his  estates  in  1615  to  his  younger  brother  James. 
On  this  event  his  wife  retired  to  England,  where  she  was 
maintained  by  her  relative,  Lady  Annandale."j*  Sir  John 
proceeded  to  Ireland,  where  he  obtained  a  grant  of  some 
escheated  lands  in  county  Fermanagh.  Some  curious  details 
respecting  his  career  in  Ireland  are  supplied  by  Father  Hay 
in  his  memoir  of  James  Spottiswoode,  Bishop  of  Clogher.J 
According  to  Hay,  Sir  John  held  "  twenty-four  townes  or 
tates  "  of  Bishop  Spottiswoode's  lands,  for  which  he  agreed  to 
pay  £36  of  yearly  rent.  The  rent  being  withheld,  the  bishop 
procured  a  warrant  of  distress,  and  thereupon  arrested  Sir 
John's  cattle.  This  procedure  being  made  public,  Lord 
Balfour  of  Glenawly,  a  Scottish  settler  in  the  county  of 
Fermanagh,  §  to  whom  the  bishop  was  obnoxious,  obtained, 
on  Sir  John's  behalf,  letters  of  reprisal,  and  with  a  powerful 
force  seized  cattle  belonging  to  the  bishop.  Some  time 
afterwards  the  bishop's  servants  attempted  to  distrain  the 
horses  of  Lord  Balfour,  on  a  claim  for  reset,  when  a  scuffle 
ensued,  in  which  Sir  John  Wemyss,  Balfour's  son-in-law, 
fell  mortally  wounded.  By  Lord  Balfour,  the  slaughter  of 
his  relative  was  reported  to  the  authorities  in  Dublin  Castle, 
and  the  bishop  was  charged  with  manslaughter.  He  was 
tried  in  the  Court  of  King's  Bench  in  November  1626,  and 
honourably  acquitted. 

From  a  letter  of  Sir  John  Wishart,  contained  in  Bishop 
Spottiswoode's  Memoirs,  it  would  appear  that  Lord  Balfour, 

W.  W.,  with  the  date  1622,  are  inscribed  on  a  panel  which  formerly  belonged 
to  the  Wishart  family  pew  in  the  parish  church  of  Fordoun  (Jervise's  Angus  and 
Mearns,  p.  387). 

*  Inquisitiones  Speciales,  Kincardine,  No.  21. 

t  Scot's  Staggering  State,  p.  ill. 

J  Spottiswoode  Miscellany,  vol.  i.,  pp.  110-136. 

§  James  Balfour,  second  son  of  Sir  James  Balfour  of  Pittendriech,  and  brother 
of  the  first  Lord  Balfour  of  Burley,  was  created,  6th  July  1619,  Lord  Balfour, 
Baron  of  Glenawly,  in  the  county  of  Fermanagh. 


348      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

though  retaining  his  hostility  to  the  bishop,  ceased  to  asso- 
ciate with  Sir  John.  The  editor  of  the  bishop's  memoirs  in 
the  Spottiswoode  Miscellany  expresses  an  opinion  that  Sir 
John,  whose  manner  was  boastful  and  absurd,  suggested  to 
Sir  Walter  Scott  the  character  of  Captain  Craigengelt  in  the 
"  Bride  of  Lammermoor."  * 

James  Wishart,  second  son  of  Sir  John  Wishart  and  Jean 
Douglas,  having  acquired  the  lands  of  Pitarrow  from  his  elder 
brother,  had  a  charter  thereto  on  the  I2th  December  1615. 
He  also  acquired  the  lands  of  Glenfarquhar  and  Monboddo. 
His  affairs  having  become  embarrassed,  he  about  the  year 
1631  sold  the  lands  of  Pitarrow,  with  the  lands  of  Carnebeg, 
Woodtown,  and  the  mill  of  Conveth,  to  David,  Lord  Car- 
negie, for  the  sum  of  59,000  merks,  or  ^3277,  155.  6fd.  ster- 
ling. In  the  instrument  of  sale,  "  Sir  John  Wishart,  sometime 
of  Pitarrow  "  is  named  as  still  living. -j-  In  a  state  of  poverty, 
James  Wishart  proceeded  to  Ireland  ;  he  became  a  captain  in 
the  king's  service,  and  perished  in  battle.  He  left  no  male 
issue.  His  wife,  Margaret  Bickerton,j  by  whom  he  obtained 
a  considerable  fortune,  survived  him,  and  resided  in  Edin- 
burgh, supported  by  her  relations. 

William,  third  son  of  Sir  John  Wishart  of  Pitarrow,  and  his 
wife,  Jean  Douglas,  entered  the  University  of  King's  College, 
Aberdeen,  in  1606,  and  there  graduated  in  i6i2.§  He  was 
admitted  coadjutor  in  the  parochial  charge  of  Fettercairn,  Kin- 
cardineshire,  24th  April  161 1,  and  was  afterwards  translated  to 
Minto.  He  returned  to  Fettercairn  in  1618,  and  was  in  May 
1630  translated  to  South  Leith.  In  1634  he  sat  as  a  member 
of  the  Court  of  High  Commission,  and  was  admitted  a 
burgess  and  guild-brother  of  Edinburgh  on  the  27th  July 
1636.  As  an  opponent  of  the  Covenant,  he  was  on  the  Qth 

*  Spottiswoode  Miscellany,  vol.  i.,  p.  134. 

t  Eraser's  Earls  of  Southesk,  p.  Ixvii.  By  the  representative  of  Lord  Car- 
negie, the  estate  of  Pitarrow  was  sold  in  1831  to  Alexander  Crombie  of  Phesdo, 
to  whose  family  it  still  belongs. 

%  Pitarrow  Writs,  quoted  by  Mr  Fraser  in  his  "Earls  of  Southesk." 

§  Fasti  Aberdonensis. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  349 

June  1639  deposed  from  the  pastoral  office,  and,  having  sup- 
ported Charles  I.  in  the  assertion  of  his  prerogative,  was 
forced  to  leave  Scotland.  He  resided  several  years  in  Corn- 
wall, and  there  died.  He  published  in  1633  an  "Exposition 
of  the  Lord's  Prayer,"  1 8 mo  ;  and  in  1642  "  Immanuel,"  a 
poem.  He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Alexander  Keith 
of  Phesdo,  who  was  served  heir  to  her  father  on  the  25th  April 
1634.  Of  this  marriage  was  born  a  son,  John,  who  was  killed 
righting  on  the  king's  side,  at  the  battle  of  Edgehill,  23d 
October  1642.* 

Alexander,  fourth  son  of  Sir  John  Wishart  and  Jean 
Douglas,  entered  the  University  of  King's  College,  Aberdeen, 
in  1626.  He  married  Catherine,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Robert 
Kerr,  minister  of  Linton,  and  had  a  son,  William. 

William  Wishart,  son  of  Alexander  Wishart  and  Catherine 
Kerr,  graduated  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh  in  1645.  In 
August  1649,  he  was  admitted  minister  of  Kinneil/f*  Linlith- 
gowshire.  Joining  the  Protesters,  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Dissenting  Presbytery  from  the  6th  August  1651  to  the 
iith  February  1659.  By  the  Committee  of  Estates,  he  was, 
on  the  I5th  September  1660,  ordered  to  confine  himself  to  his 
chamber,  and  in  other  five  days  was  committed  to  prison  at 
Edinburgh.  After  an  imprisonment  of  thirteen  months,  partly 
in  Stirling  Castle,  he  was,  on  the  petition  of  the  Presbytery 
of  Linlithgow,  restored  to  freedom.  Being  sequestrated  for 
refusing  to  disown  the  "  Remonstrance,"  J  he  was  deprived  of 
his  stipend,  which,  however,  the  Estates  of  Parliament,  by  an 
Act  passed  on  the  29th  January  1661,  granted  to  his  wife. 
He  was  intercommuned  by  the  Privy  Council  on  the  6th 
August  1675,  on  the  charge  of  keeping  conventicles,  or 
preaching  without  public  sanction.  On  the  5th  February 
1685,  sentence  of  banishment  to  his  Majesty's  plantations 
was  pronounced  against  him  for  his  refusing  the  Test,  but  he 

*  Scott's  Fasti  Eccl.  Scot.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  866  ;  and  vol.  i.,  p.  99. 
f  This  parish  is  now  united  to  Borrowstounness. 

J  A  document  addressed  by  the  General  Assembly  of  February  1645  to  Charles  I., 
reflecting  on  his  conduct  in  the  severest  terms. 


350      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

was  relieved  on  granting  a  bond  to  appear  when  called  upon. 
He  afterwards  resided  at  Leith  ;  and  when  the  Toleration 
Act  was  passed,  he  ministered  to  a  congregation  in  that  place. 
He  died  in  February  1692,  about  the  age  of  sixty-seven.* 
He  married  Christian,  daughter  of  Richard  Burne,  of  the 
family  of  Burne  of  Middlemill,  Fifeshire,  a  magistrate  of 
Linlithgow.  Of  this  marriage  were  born  three  sons — George, 
James,  and  William. 

George  Wishart,  eldest  son  of  the  Rev.  William  Wishart, 
minister  of  Kinneil,  obtained  a  commission  in  the  army, 
and  became  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Dragoon  Guards.  He 
purchased  the  estate  of  Cliftonhall,  Edinburghshire.  A  royal 
warrant,  dated  iQth  April  1700,  authorised  a  patent  to  be 
prepared,  conferring  on  him,  with  remainder  to  his  heirs 
whomsoever,  a  baronetcy  of  Scotland.  This  honour  was  con- 
ferred on  the  I /th  June  1706,  with  the  limitation  originally 
designed.  Sir  George  Wishart,  Bart,  married,  as  his  first 
wife,  Anne,  daughter  of  Barclay  of  Colairney,  Fife- 
shire,  by  whom  he  had  a  daughter,  Margaret,  who  espoused 
David  Stuart  of  Fettercairn.  On  the  death  of  Sir  George, 
which  took  place  prior  to  August  1722,  her  eldest  son  suc- 
ceeded to  the  baronetcy  of  Wishart,  and  became  known  as  Sir 
William  Stuart,  Bart.  This  branch  of  the  Wishart  family 
is  now  represented  by  Harriet  Williamina,  only  child  of  the 
late  Sir  John  Hepburn-Stuart  Forbes,  Bart,  of  Pitsligo,  and 
wife  of  Baron  Clinton. 

Sir  George  Wishart,  Bart,  married,  secondly,  Fergusia 
M'Cubbin,  of  a  Galloway  family,  by  whom  he  had  two 
daughters,  Fergusia  and  Cordelia.  By  a  deed  of  entail,  dated 
4th  January  1718,  he  conveyed  his  estate  of  Cliftonhall  to 
himself  and  his  heirs-male,  whom  failing,  to  his  daughter  Fer- 
gusia. On  the  death  of  Sir  George  Wishart,  without  heirs- 
male,  Fergusia  Wishart  expede  a  general  service  as  heiress 
of  provision  to  her  father,  whereby  she  took  up  the  unexe- 
cuted procuratory  of  resignation,  and  obtained  a  charter 
from  the  superior  of  the  estate  of  Cliftonhall,  conform  to  an 
*  Fasti  Eccl.  Scot.,  vol.  i.,  p.  172. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  351 

instrument  of  sasine.*  In  1727,  she  married  George  Lock- 
hart  of  Carnwath,  Lanarkshire.  She  is  now  represented  by 
Alexander  Dundas  Ross  Wishart  Baillie  Cochrane  of  Lam- 
ington,  M.P.  for  the  Isle  of  Wight. 

Cordelia  Wishart,  younger  daughter  of  Sir  George  Wishart, 
Bart,  by  his  second  marriage,  married  William  Sinclair  of 
Rosslyn  ;  she  died  without  surviving  issue. 

James,  second  son  of  the  Rev.  William  Wishart,  minister  of 
Kinneil,  entered  the  Royal  Navy,  and  in  1703  became  Admiral 
of  the  White.  In  1708,  and  from  1712  to  1714,  he  was  a 
Lord  of  the  Admiralty.  He  commanded  a  fleet  in  the  Medi- 
terranean, and  was  knighted  by  Queen  Anne.  He  died 
without  issue  in  May  1723,  leaving  a  fortune  of  ^20,000  to 
his  nephew,  William  Wishart,  Principal  of  the  University  of 
Edinburgh. 

William,  third  son  of  the  Rev.  William  Wishart,  minister 
of  Kinneil,  studied  at  the  universities  of  Utrecht  and  Edin- 
burgh, graduating  at  the  latter  in  1680.  In  1684  he  suffered 
imprisonment  on  a  charge  of  denying  the  king's  authority.  On 
the  loth  August  1691,  he  was  ordained  minister  of  the  first 
charge  of  Leith.  His  settlement  was  resisted  by  the  ad- 
herents of  Mr  Charles  Kay,  the  non-jurant  incumbent  of  the 
second  charge.  On  the  following  day  he  preached  under  the 
protection  of  an  armed  "  guard."  He  was  translated  to  the 
Tron  Church,  Edinburgh,  in  1707,  and  in  1710  was  appointed 
Principal  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  an  office  he  held 
along  with  his  parochial  charge.  He  received  the  degree 
of  D.D.,  and  was  on  five  occasions  chosen  Moderator  of  the 
General  Assembly.  He  published  two  volumes  of  discourses, 
and  greatly  excelled  in  his  public  ministrations.  He  married 
Janet,  daughter  of  Major  William  Murray,  brother  of  John 
Murray  of  Touchadam,  Stirlingshire,  and  who  on  the  8th 
June  1714  was  served  heir-portioner  of  her  aunt,  Mrs  Anne 
Cunningham  of  Drumquhassel ;  she  died  on  the  3Oth  June 
1744.  Principal  Wishart  died  on  the  nth  June  1729,  in  his 

*  Particular  Register  of  Sasines,  loth  December  1726. 


352      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

sixty-ninth  year.*  He  was  father  of  two  sons,  William  and 
George. 

George,  younger  son  of  Principal  William  Wishart,  studied 
at  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  and  there  graduated  2/th 
May  1719.  He  was  in  June  1726  ordained  minister  of  St 
Cuthbert's,  Edinburgh,  and  translated  to  the  Tron  Church  in 
July  1730.  By  the  Commission  of  the  General  Assembly  he 
was,  in  1743,  appointed  one  of  their  delegates  to  procure  an 
Act  of  Parliament  for  establishing  the  Ministers'  Widows 
Fund.  In  May  1746,  he  was  elected  principal  clerk  of  the 
General  Assembly,  and  in  1748  was  chosen  Moderator.  He 
received  the  degree  of  D.D.  in  1759,  and  in  1765  was 
appointed  chaplain  in  ordinary  to  the  king,  and  one  of 
the  Deans  of  the  Chapel  Royal.  Esteemed  as  a  preacher,  he 
was  beloved  for  his  amiable  manners.  He  died  I2th  June 
1785,  aged  eighty-three.-f  He  married  Anne,  daughter  of 
John  Campbell  of  Orchard,  cousin  and  heir  of  Sir  James 
Campbell,  Bart,  of  Ardkinglass,  by  whom  he  had,  with  other 
daughters  who  died  unmarried,  Janet,  who  married  Major- 
General  Beckwith,  and  Jane,  who  married  the  Baron  von 
Westphalen.  Dr  George  Wishart  died  I7th  November  1782, 
aged  seventy-two. 

William  Wishart,  elder  son  of  Principal  William  Wishart, 
studied  for  the  Scottish  Church,  and  began  his  ministry  as 
pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  Founder's  Hall,  London. 
In  1737  he  was  presented  to  the  New  Greyfriars'  church, 
Edinburgh,  but  his  settlement  was  delayed  consequent  on  a 
charge  of  heresy  being  brought  against  him  by  the  Presby- 
tery, of  which  he  was  acquitted  by  the  General  Assembly. 
He  was,  in  1737,  appointed  Principal  of  the  University  of 
Edinburgh,  and  in  1745  was  elected  Moderator  of  the  General 
Assembly.  He  published  sermons  and  essays,  and  edited 
various  theological  works.  He  married  first,  in  December 
1724,  Margaret,  daughter  of  Professor  Thomas  Haliburton  of 
St  Andrews,  and  by  her,  who  died  27th  February  1746,  had 

< 
*  FastJ  Eccl.  Scot,  vol.  i.,  pp.  56,  101.  t  Ib.,  pp.  56,  121. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  353 

a  son,  William  Thomas ;  another  son,  who  died  in  January 
1739;  and  three  daughters — Anne,  who  died  in  1819,  aged 
eighty-two ;  Janet,  who  married  Mr  Maxwell,  merchant, 
Dundee ;  and  Margaret,  who  married  James  Macdowall, 
merchant,  Edinburgh.  Principal  Wishart  married,  secondly, 
on  the  i /th  March  1747,  Frances,  daughter  of  James  Deans 
of  Woodhouselee.  He  died  I2th  May  1753.  His  widow 
married  Dr  John  Scot  of  Stewartfield,  and  subsequently  John 
Struther  Ker  of  Littledean,  Roxburghshire.* 

William  Thomas  Wishart,  only  surviving  son  of  Principal 
William  Wishart,  possessed  the  estate  of  Foxhall,  in  the 
county  of  Linlithgow.  He  was,  on  the  3<Dth  March  1768, 
served  heir  to  his  father  in  the  estate  of  Carsebonny,  Stirling- 
shire. He  recorded  his  arms  -f1  22d  February  1769,  as  only 
son  of  Principal  Wishart,  and  was  allowed  supporters  as  heir- 
male  of  Pitarrow.  He  married,  in  April  1768,  Anne,  eldest 
daughter  of  George  Balfour,  Writer  to  the  Signet,  and  died 
3d  December  1799,  leaving  five  sons,  William,  George, 
Patrick,  Archibald,  and  John  Henry. 

William,  eldest  son  of  William  Thomas  Wishart  of  Foxhall 
and  Carsebonny,  succeeded  his  father.  He  was  major  in  the 
1 5th  Regiment  of  Foot,  and  died  unmarried  on  the  I4th 
August  1805.  On  his  death  the  representation  of  the  House 
of  Pitarrow  devolved  on  his  brother  George  ;  but  the  family 
estates  passed  by  settlement  to  his  next  brother,  Patrick. 
George  Wishart  was  served  heir-male  of  Sir  George  Wishart, 
Bart,  before  the  Sheriff  of  Edinburgh,  i8th  July  1843,  and 
assumed  the  baronetcy  under  the  erroneous  belief  that  it  was 
destinecLto  heirs-male.  He  died  unmarried  before  1860. 

Patrick,  third  son  of  William  Thomas  Wishart,  was  a  Writer 
to  the  Signet.  He  sold  the  family  estates.  By  his  wife,  Mar- 
garet, daughter  of  Alexander  Robertson  of  Prenderguest,  Ber- 
wickshire, he  had  three  sons,  William  Thomas,  James,  and 
Alexander,  and  three  daughters,  Philadelphia-Anne,  Hope- 
Balfour,  and  Jane.  William  Thomas,  the  eldest  son,  took  orders 
in  the  English  Church ;  he  died  at  St  John,  New  Brunswick, 

*  Fasti  Eccl.  Scot.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  59,  70.  t  Lyon  Register. 


354      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

without  issue.  The  two  younger  sons  died  unmarried. 
Philadelphia-Anne,  the  eldest  daughter,  married  Dr  Macnider  ; 
and  Jane,  the  third  daughter,  married  Major-General  W.  J. 
Gairdner,  C.B.,  Bengal  Army,  by  whom  she  had  Archie 
Wishart  Gairdner,  lieutenant  ioo,th  Regiment,  George 
Gairdner,  in  the  service  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  James 
Gairdner,  R.N.,  and  others. 

Archibald,  fourth  son  of  William  Thomas  Wishart,  was  a 
Writer  to  the  Signet,  and  keeper  of  the  Register  of  Sasines. 
He  married,  but  died  childless. 

John  Henry,  the  fifth  son,  practised  as  a  surgeon  in  Edin- 
burgh. He  married  Louisa,  daughter  of  Major  Wilson,  R.A., 
by  Martha,  daughter  of  Robert  White,  M.D.,  of  Bennochy, 
Fifeshire,  and  left  three  sons  and  two  daughters.  William, 
the  eldest  son,  died  in  India ;  the  second  son,  James,  was  a 
surgeon  in  the  army,  and  died  at  Scutari  in  1856.  John,  the 
third  son,  male  representative  of  the  House  of  Wishart  of 
Pitarrow,  is  now  resident  in  Australia. 

Adam  Wishart,  third  son  of  John  Wishart,  Sheriff  of  the 
Mearns  or  Kincardineshire,  obtained,  in  1272,  a  charter  of  the 
lands  of  Ballandarg  and  Logie,  and  in  1279  a  charter  of  the 
lands  of  Kenny  Murchardyn,  or  Kennyneil,  all  in  the  county 
of  Forfar.*  Gilbert,  eldest  son  of  Adam  Wishart,  swore 
fealty  to  Edward  I.  at  Elgin  on  the  24th  July  1296^ 
Robert,  the  second  son,  was  advanced  from  the  office  of 
Archdeacon  of  Lothian  to  the  Bishopric  of  Glasgow  in  1272, 
when  William  Wishart  of  that  see  was  postulated  to  St 
Andrews.  According  to  the  Chartulary  of  Melrose  he  was  con- 
secrated at  Aberdeen  on  Sunday  before  the  Feast  of  the  Puri- 
fication, 1272.  He  was  a  Privy  Councillor  of  Alexander  III., 
and  on  the  death  of  that  monarch  in  1285  was  appointed  a 
Lord  of  Regency.  So  long  as  Edward  I.  evinced  a  desire 
to  uphold  the  independence  of  Scotland,  Bishop  Wishart 
gave  him  countenance.  But  when  the  abdication  of  BaKol 
revealed  the  duplicity  of  the  English  monarch,  he  attached 

*  Dalrymple's  Historical  Collections,  217  ;  Reg.  Vet.  de  Aberd.,  332. 
+  Ragman  Roll,  p.  146. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  355 

himself  to  the  patriotic  party,  and  in  1297  joined  the  standard 
of  Wallace.  Though  a  churchman,  he  assumed  the  coat  of 
mail,  and  performed  military  duties  in  the  field. 

When  Robert  the  Bruce  resolved  to  assert  his  right  to  the 
Scottish  throne  in  the  spring  of  1306,  Bishop  Wishart  gave 
him  a  cordial  support,  and  at  his  coronation,  which  took 
place  at  Scone  on  the  2/th  March,  he,  in  absence  of  the 
regalia,  which  Edward  had  removed  to  London,  supplied 
from  his  own  wardrobe  the  robes  in  which  King  Robert 
appeared  on  the  occasion.  He  was  present  with  his  sovereign 
at  the  battle  of  Methven,  fought  on  the  i8th  of  June.  This 
engagement  having  resulted  disastrously,  Bishop  Wishart 
sought  shelter  in  the  castle  of  Cupar-Fife.  There  he  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  invaders,  and  being  bound  in  chains,  was 
sent  as  a  prisoner  to  England.  Confined  in  the  castle  of 
Nottingham,  he  was  subjected  to  much  indignity,  and 
narrowly  escaped  death.  He  was  afterwards  detained  in 
Porchester  Castle,  and  the  Pope  was  entreated  to  make 
vacant  his  see  and  to  appoint  as  his  successor  a  bishop 
favourable  to  the  English  interests.* 

After  the  decisive  battle  of  Bannockburn,  Bishop  Wishart 
was,  along  with  Bruce's  wife,  daughter,  sister,  and  nephew, 
exchanged  for  the  Earl  of  Hereford,  who  had  been  made  a 
prisoner  by  the  Scots.  During  his  long  confinement  he  had  en- 
dured many  privations,  and  become  blind.  He  died  on  the  26th 
November  1316,  and  his  remains  were  deposited  in  his  cathe- 
dral church.-f-  During  his  episcopate,  he  forwarded  the  erection 
of  his  cathedral.  It  was  alleged  by  Edward  I.  that  he  used 
timber,  allowed  him  for  erecting  a  steeple  to  his  cathedral,  in 
constructing  instruments  of  war  for  the  reduction  of  Kirkin- 
tilloch  Peel,  held  by  the  English.^ 

John  Wishart,  nephew  of  Bishop  Robert  Wishart,  and  prob- 

*  Rymer's  Foedera,   vol.  i.,   part  ii.,  new  ed.,  p.  996;  Prynne  ;  Edward  I., 
p.  1156  ;  Tytler's  History  of  Scotland,  Edin.,  1869,  I2mo,  vol.  i.,  pp.  89,  94. 
t  History  of  Glasgow,  edited  by  the  Rev.  J.  S.  Gordon,  D.D.,  Glasg.,  1871, 

P-53- 

t  Burton's  History  of  Scotland,  Edin.,  1873,  v°l-  i"->  P-  429  >  Innes's  Sketches 
of  Early  Scottish  History,  Edin.,  1861,  p.  50. 


356      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

ably  a  younger  son  of  Gilbert  Wishart  of  Logic,  was  some- 
time Archdeacon  of  Glasgow.  In  this  capacity  he  vigorously 
upheld  the  national  cause,  but  was  unhappily  taken  prisoner 
by  Edward  II.,  who,  on  the  6th  April  1310,  ordered  his 
removal  from  the  castle  of  Conway  to  the  city  of  Chester,  and 
from  thence  to  the  Tower  of  London.  Released  after  the 
battle  of  Bannockburn,  he  resumed  his  duties  as  archdeacon. 
In  1319  he  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Glasgow.  He  died  in 
1325.* 

To  the  family  of  Ballandarg  and  Logic  probably  belonged 
John  Wyshert,  who,  on  the  I2th  April  1378,  received  from  the 
Privy  Council  of  England  a  passport,  authorising  him  to  pro- 
ceed from  Scotland  to  the  University  of  Oxford  for  the  pur- 
poses of  study.-f- 

Alexander  Wishart  was,  in  1409,  member  of  an  inquest 
respecting  the  lands  of  Meikle  Kenny,  in  the  parish  of  King- 
oldrum,  Forfarshire.  In  a  charter  of  these  lands,  granted  by 
Malcolm,  Abbot  of  Arbroath,  in  1466,  is  named  John,  son  of 
John  Wishart  of  Logie.J 

In  1526  John  Wishart  succeeded  his  father  Alexander  in 
the  lands  of  Kennyneil.§  On  the  22d  October  1530,  he  ob- 
tained a  precept  of  a  charter  of  the  lands  of  Logic  Wishart, 
Ballandarg  Wester,  and  others.  |j  He  had,  on  the  3<Dth  Janu- 
ary 1531,  a  letter  of  regress  of  the  lands  of  Lokarstoun  and 
others.H"  On  the  3ist  July  1538,  a  protection  was  granted  by 
James 'V.  to  John  Wishart  of  Logic  Wishart,  and  Christian 
Ogilvy,  his  spouse,  with  John,  Alexander,  Katherine,  and 
Christian  Wishart,  their  sons  and  daughters,  and  William 
Wishart,  brother  to  the  said  John,  and  to  their  lands  and 
goods.*  * 

On  the  forfeiture  of  Archibald,  Earl  of  Angus,  superior 
of  Logic  Wishart,  John  Wishart  resigned  his  lands  to 
James  V.,  from  whom,  on  the  2Qth  May  1540,  he  received 

*  Gordon's  History  of  Glasgow,  p.  58.  1*  Rotuli  Scotise,  vol.  ii.,  p.  Sa. 

£  Reg.  Nig.  de  Aberd.,  pp.  47,  50.  §  Ib. 

||  Reg.  Sec.  Sig.,  vol.  viii. ,  fol.  195.  H  Ib.,  vol.  ix. ,  fol.  72. 
**  Ib.,  vol.  xii.,  fol.  6. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  357 

a  charter  of  the  lands  of  Logic  Wishart  and  others.*  He 
further  obtained  a  royal  charter,  erecting  his  whole  lands  into 
a  barony,  to  be  styled  "  the  barony  of  Wishart,"  and  a  letter, 
dated  I4th  October  1540,  whereby  the  king's  right  to  the  said 
barony  was  discharged.^  This  branch  of  the  House  of  Wishart 
became  henceforth  known  as  the  Wisharts  of  that  ilk. 

Alexander  Strachan,  son  of  John  Wishart  of  Logic  Wishart 
(named  in  the  protection  of  James  V.),  died  in  November 
1569,  leaving  three  daughters — Margaret,  Isobel,  and  Janet. 
By  his  will,  which  was  confirmed  in  the  Commissary  Court  of 
Edinburgh,  on  the  6th  April  1570,  he  appointed  his  brother 
George  Wishart  tutor  to  his  daughters,  j 

George  Wishart,  a  younger  son  of  John  Wishart  of  Logic 
Wishart,  became  a  burgess  of  Dundee,  and  engaged  in 
merchandise  in  that  place.  In  the  burgh  records  of  Dundee 
"  George  Vischart "  appears  eighth  in  a  list  of  sixteen  coun- 
cillors, dated  28th  September  1550.  He  is,  on  the  24th  Sep- 
tember 1553,  entered  last  on  a  list  of  four  bailies.  In  the 
Record  of  the  Convention  of  Royal  Burghs,§  held  at  Dundee 
on  the  28th  September  1555,  he  is  named  as  one  of  the  com- 
missioners of  that  burgh.  He  continued  to  act  as  a  magis- 
trate in  the  Burgh  Court  till  1564. 

On  the  28th  October  1563,  George  Wishart  obtained  a  pre- 
cept of  a  charter,  confirming  him  in  the  superiority  lands  of 
Kirriemuir,  granted  to  him  by  his  father,  "John  Wishart  of  that 
ilk."  ||  On  the  2/th  January  1554-5,116  granted  a  discharge 
to  his  brother,  John  Wishart  of  that  ilk,  for  five  hundred 
merks,  in  satisfaction  of  his  claim  on  half  the  lands  of  Ballan- 
darg.H  By  a  royal  letter,  dated  at  Stirling,  7th  March  1568, 
he  received  a  gift  of  all  the  goods  which  belonged  to  James 
Cramond  of  Auldbar,  which  had  become  escheat  by  his  being 
denounced  rebel. 

*  Reg.  Sec.  Sig.,  vol.  xiii.,  fol.  93. 

+  Ib.,  vol.  xiv.,  fol.  52^  ;  Acta  Parl.  Scot.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  379. 
J  Edinburgh  Com.  Reg.,  Testaments,  vol.  ii. 

§  Record  of  Convention  of  Royal  Burghs,  Edin.,  1 866,  410,  vol.  i.,  p.  10. 
||  Reg.  Sec.  Sig.,  vol.  xxxii.,  p.  \ib. 
U  Wedderbum's  Protocols  in  the  Town-Clerk's  Office,  Dundee. 


358      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

John  Wishart  of  Logic  Wishart  died  in  the  year  1574.  By 
his  will,  dated  2d  September  1574,  he  appointed  Marion 
Gardyne,  his  spouse,  and  Thomas  Wishart,  his  second  son,  his 
executors,  with  Patrick  Ogilvy  of  Inchmartin  as  "  oversman." 
To  his  daughter  Euphan  he  bequeathed  £500;  he  also 
made  a  provision  for  his  daughters,  Mirabell,  Agnes,  and 
Katherine.* 

John  Wishart,  the  next  baron  of  Logie  Wishart,  obtained 
the  honour  of  knighthood.  He  had  two  sons,  John  and 
Gilbert,  and  one  daughter.  Gilbert  Wishart  was,  on  the  3Oth 
November  1614,  denounced  rebel  for  non-payment  of  a  debt 
of  eighty  pounds  Scots.^ 

On  the  3Oth  October  1629,  John  Wishart  of  that  ilk  was 
served  heir  to  his  uncle,  in  lands  situated  in  the  regality  of 
Kirriemuir  ;  also  to  his  father,  Sir  John  Wishart,  in  the  lands 
of  Kennyneil.J  He  seems  to  have  died  unmarried. 

Thomas  Wishart,  probably  the  same  as  is  described  as 
"  his  second  son  "  by  John  Wishart  of  Logie  Wishart,  who 
died  in  1574,  obtained  a  portion  of  the  lands  of  Inglistoun,  in 
the  county  of  Forfar.  On  the  nth  January  1612,  Thomas 
Wishart  "  in  Ballindarg  "  was  served  heir  to  his  father  in  a 
fourth  part  of  the  lands  of  Inglistoun.§  He  married  ||  the 
only  daughter  of  Sir  John  Wischart  of  Logie  Wishart,  and  on 
the  death  of  his  brother  John,  succeeded  to  the  representa- 
tion of  the  House.  But  the  estates  were  dissipated.  Of  the 
marriage  of  Thomas  Wishart  "  in  Ballindarg  "  with  his  cousin, 
a  daughter  of  Sir  John  Wischart  of  that  ilk,  were  born  two 
sons,  George  IF  and  Gilbert.  George  Wishart  was  born  about 
the  year  1599.  Having  prosecuted  his  theological  studies 
at  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  and  obtained  licence  as  a 
probationer,  he  was  in  1624  admitted  minister  of  the  parish 

*  Edinburgh  Com.  Reg.,  Testaments,  vol.  iii. 

t  Reg.  Sec.  Sig. 

J  Inq.  Spec.  Forfar,  Nos.  188,  189.  §  Ib.,  No.  76. 

||  Genealogical  MS.  in  the  Lyon  Office. 

If  Though  the  statement  in  the  text  as  to  the  Bishop  George  Wishart's  descent 
seems  justified  by  the  authority  of  Nisbet,  we  are  only  certain  that  the  Bishop 
sprung  from  the  House  of  Logie  Wishart. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  359 

of  Monifieth,  Forfarshire.  In  1626  he  was  translated  to  the 
second  charge  of  St  Andrews.  Having  retired  to  England  in 
1637,  ne  was  deposed  for  deserting  his  charge.  Soon  after- 
wards he  was  appointed  lecturer  in  All  Saints  church,  New- 
castle, and  in  1640  was  presented  to  St  Nicholas  church  in 
the  same  town.  Of  this  latter  charge  he  was  deprived  by  the 
House  of  Commons  in  June  1642.  When  the  Scots  took 
Newcastle  in  October  1644,  he  was  made  prisoner,  and 
on  the  charge  of  corresponding  with  Royalists,  was  com- 
mitted to  the  prison  of  Edinburgh,  and  there  confined 
in  a  felon's  cell.  On  his  petition,  the  Estates  of  Parlia- 
ment, in  January  1645,  agreed  to  support  his  wife  and 
five  children.  When  the  Marquis  of  Montrose  arrived  in 
Edinburgh  with  his  victorious  army,  he  was  liberated,  after 
a  captivity  of  seven  months.  By  the  Marquis  he  was  ap- 
pointed his  private  chaplain,  and  in  this  capacity  he  accom- 
panied his  benefactor  both  at  home  and  abroad.  At  Paris, 
in  1647,  ne  published  a  narrative  of  the  Marquis's  exploits 
under  the  following  title  : 

':  J.  G.  De  rebus  auspiciis  serenissimi  et  potentissimi  Caroli,  Dei 
gratia,  Magnae  Britanniae  Regis,  &c.,  sub  imperio  illustrissimi  Jacobi 
Montisrosarum  Marchionis,  Cometis  de  Kincardin,  &c.,  supremi 
Scotiae  gubernatoris,  anno  MDCXLIV.  et  duobus  sequentibus,  prae- 
clare  gestis,  commentarius." 

Wishart  subsequently  added  a  second  part,  bringing  the 
narrative  down  to  the  period  of  Montrose's  death.  A  copy 
of  the  work  was  suspended  round  Montrose's  neck  during  his 
execution. 

After  the  fall  of  Montrose,  Wishart  became  chaplain  to 
a  Scottish  regiment  in  the  United  Provinces  ;  he  subsequently 
officiated  as  chaplain  to  Elizabeth,  Queen  of  Bohemia.  On 
the  Restoration,  he  was  appointed  rector  of  Newcastle,  and 
on  3d  June  1662  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Edinburgh.  He 
died  in  August  1671,  in  his  seventy-second  year.  Though  a 
vigorous  upholder  of  the  royal  prerogative,  he  was  privately  a 
lover  of  toleration.  To  the  prisoners  captured  at  the  engage- 


360      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

ment  at  Pentland  in  1666,  and  warded  in  prison  at  Edinburgh, 
he  sent  daily  a  portion  of  his  dinner.  He  bequeathed  to  the 
poor  of  Holyrood  £500  Scots.*  On  an  elegant  mural 
monument  raised  to  his  memory  in  the  Abbey  of  Holyrood 
is  the  following  inscription: 

"  Hie  recubat  Celebris  Doctor  Sophocardius  alter, 
Entheus  ille  2o<£oo-  KapSiav  Agricola. 
Orator  fervore  pio,  facundior  olim 
Doctiloque  rapiens  pectora  dura  modis. 
Ternus  ut  Antistes  Wiseheart,  ita  ternus  Edinen. 
Candoris  columen  nobile,  semper  idem. 
Plus  octogenis  hinc  gens  Sophocardia  lustris, 
Summis  hie  mitris  claruit,  atque  tholis ; 
Dum  cancellarius  regni  Sophocardius,  idem 
Praesul  erat  Fani,  Regulae  Sanctse,  tui. 
Atque  ubi  pro  regno,  ad  Norham,  contendit  avito 
Brussius,  indomita  mente  manuque  potens ; 
Glasguus  Robertus  erat  Sophocardius  alter, 
Pro  patria,  qui  se  fortiter  opposuit 
Nee  pacis  studiis  Gulielmo,  animisve  Roberto, 
Agricola  inferior,  caetera  forte  prior ; 
Excelsus  sine  fastu  animus,  sine  fraude  benignus, 
Largus  opis  miseris,  intemerata  fides. 
Attica  rara  fides  ;  constantia  raraque,  nullis 
Expugnata,  licet  mille  petita,  malis. 
In  regem,  obsequii  exemplar,  civisque  fidelis 
Antiquam  venerans,  cum  probitate,  fidem. 
Omnibus  exutum  ter,  quern  proscriptio,  career, 
Exilium,  lustris  non  domuere  tribus. 
Ast  reduci  Carolo  plaudunt  ubi  regna  secundo, 
Doctori  Wiseheart  insula  plaudit  ovans. 
Olim  ubi  captivus,  squalenteque  carcere  laesus, 
Annos  ter  ternos,  prsesul  honorus  obit. 
Vixit  Olympiadas  terquinas  ;  Nestoris  annos 
Vovit  Edina :  obitum  Scotia  moesta  dolet. 
Gestaque  Montrosei,  Latio  celebrata  cothurno : 
Quantula  (proh)  tanti  sunt  monumenta  viri !  " 

*  Fasti  Eccl.  Scot,  vol.  i.,  p.  392  ;  vol.  ii.,  p.  394  ;  vol.  iii.,  p.  724. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  361 

Bishop  Wishart's  epitaph   may  be  thus  rendered   in   a   free 
translation  : 

"  Here  rest  the  remains  of  the  distinguished  Doctor  George  Wishart, 
the  third  bishop  of  his  name.  Gifted  with  superior  wisdom  and 
piety,  he  by  his  eloquence  and  learning  moved  the  stubborn  and 
reclaimed  the  vicious.  A  pattern  of  honour,  he  maintained  a  con- 
sistent and  upright  life.  For  four  hundred  years,  the  members  of 
his  House  were  remarkable  both  in  Church  and  State.  William 
Wishart  was  Chancellor  of  the  kingdom  and  Bishop  of  St  Andrews. 
Robert  Wishart  was  Bishop  of  Glasgow,  and  a  zealous  supporter  of 
King  Robert  the  Bruce,  and  an  upholder  of  the  national  cause. 
Bishop  GeorgS  equalled  Bishop  William  in  his  love  of  peace,  and 
Bishop  Robert  in  his  patriotic  valour.  He  celebrated  the  exploits 
of  the  great  Montrose.  In  his  deportment,  dignity  was  unallied 
with  pride.  The  poor  shared  largely  of  his  bounty.  His  generous 
emotions  neither  misplaced  confidence  nor  misfortune  might  arrest 
or  overcome.  Loyal  to  his  sovereign,  he  was  devoted  to  his  country. 
Thrice  deprived  of  his  substance,  he  faithfully  endured  impeach- 
ment, imprisonment,  and  exile.  Having  long  suffered  adversity,  he 
was  privileged  on  the  restoration  of  monarchy  to  experience  com- 
fort. In  the  city  where  he  was  cruelly  imprisoned,  he  was  for  nine 
years  an  honoured  bishop.  He  attained  the  venerable  age  of  [seventy- 
two],  Edinburgh  wished  that  he  might  reach  the  years  of  Nestor, 
and  Scotland  bewailed  his  death." 

Bishop  Wishart  married  Margaret  Ogilvy,  by  whom  he  had 
four  sons,  Hugo,  Captain  James,  Patrick,  and  Robert,  and 
two  daughters,  Jean  and  Margaret  Jean,  the  elder  daughter, 
married  William  Walker.* 

Gilbert  Wishart,  younger  son  of  Thomas  Wishart  in  Ballan- 
darg,  graduated  at  King's  College,  Aberdeen,  in  1622.  Prior 
to  the  i/th  March  1635,  he  was  admitted  to  the  pastoral 
charge  of  Dunnichen,  Forfarshire.  He  died  in  January  1688, 
aged  about  eighty-six,  leaving  a  son,  John,  and  a  daughter, 
Isobel,  who  married  John  Ogilvie  in  Easter  Idvie/f- 

John  Wishart  was  Regent  of  Philosophy  in  the  University 
of  Edinburgh,  and  one  of  the  Commissaries  of  Edinburgh. 

*  Fasti  Eccl.  Scot.,  vol.  i.,  p.  392.  f  Ib.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  768. 


362      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

He  owned  the  estate  of  Balgavie,  which  he  latterly  ex- 
changed for  the  barony  of  Logic  Wishart*  He  is  described 
by  Nisbet  as  "  nephew  to  the  bishop,  and  great-grandson 
of  Sir  John  Wishart  of  Logic."  -f- 

In  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  or  earlier, 
a  branch  of  the  House  of  Pitarrow  obtained  the  lands  of 
Drymme  or  Drum,  near  Montrose.  In  an  instrument  dated 
I4th  June  1565,  seising  George  Wishart,  brother  of  John 
Wishart  of  Pitarrow,  in  the  lands  of  Westerdoid,  Forfarshire, 
George  Wishart  of  Drymme  is  named  as  his  attorney.^;  To 
the  discharge  of  an  assignation  by  the  laird  of  Dun,  dated 
1 7th  June  1581,  George  Wischart  of  Drimme  is  a'witness.§  On 
the  7th  June  1580,  George  Hepburn,  Chancellor  of  Brechin, 
directed  to  him  as  bailie  a  precept  of  sasine  for  infefting  Paul 
Eraser,  precentor  of  Brechin,  in  a  portion  of  waste  land.  || 

To  George  Wishart,  elder  of  Drymme,  was  granted  on  the 
7th  August  1591,  a  royal  charter  of  the  moor  called  Menboy.1I 
By  George  Wishart  of  Drymme,  son  of  the  preceding,  the 
moor  of  Menboy  was,  on  the  26th  July  1605,  s°ld  to  Alexander 
Campbell,  Bishop  of  Brechin,  and  Helen  Clephane,  his 
second  wife.*  * 

Of  the  family  of  Wishart  of  Drum,  certain  members 
settled  in  the  parish  and  burgh  of  Montrose.  In  the 
parish  register  of  Montrose,  "  George  Wyscheart,  guidman 
of  Irvine,"  is,  on  the  22d  October  1624,  named  as  witness 
to  a  baptism.  Bailie  George  Wyschart  is  mentioned  in  the 
baptismal  register  on  the  22d  March  of  the  same  year.  On 
the  2d  March  1649,  James  Wischart,  described  as  lawful  son 
of  Mr  James  Wischart,  burgess  of  Montrose,  had  sasine  of  a 
tenement  in  Brechin  as  nearest  of  kin  to  Thomas  Ramsay 
of  Brechin,  notary  public,  his  uncle/f--f-  In  1656  James 
Wischeart  is  named  as  a  member  of  the  town  council  of 

*  Genealogical  MS.  in  the  Lyon  Office,  p.  477. 
t  Nisbet's  System  of  Heraldry,  vol.  i.,  p.  201. 

£  Protocol  Book  of  Thomas  Ireland  in  the  Town-Clerk's  Office,  Dundee. 
§  Reg.  Episc.  Brechin.,  p.  309,  No.  272.  ||  Ib.,  p.  215,  No.  193. 

T  Ib.,  p.  286,  No.  246.       **  Ib.,  p.  292,  No.  253.        ft  Ib.,  p.  247,  No.  189. 


MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WISHART.  363 

Montrose,  and  on  the  28th  October  of  the  same  year,  Mr 
James  Wishart,  a  son  of  the  preceding,  was  chosen  "  doctor  " 
or  rector  of  the  grammar  school. 

Mr  James  Wishart,  rector  of  the  grammar  school  of 
Montrose,  was  father  of  a  son,  William,  and  three  daughters, 
Jean,  Margaret,  and  Elizabeth.  He  died  nth  September 
1683.*  William  Wishart  studied  at  the  University  of  Edin- 
burgh, and  was,  on  the  23d  April  1669,  ordained  by  George 
Wishart,  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  minister  of  Newabbey.  He 
was,  in  1680,  translated  to  Wamphray,  where  he  died 
unmarried  in  February  1685. 

Elizabeth,  third  daughter  of  Mr  James  Wishart,  born 
November  1664,  married  Robert  Strachan,  rector  of  the 
grammar  school  of  Montrose,  descended  from  the  ancient 
House  of  Strachan  of  Thornton,  Kincardineshire.  •[• 

By  patent,  dated  22d  February  1769,  the  arms  of  William 
Thomas  Wishart,  head  and  representative  of  the  House  of 
Pitarrow,  were  recorded  in  the  Lyon  Register :  argent,  three 
piles  or  passion  nails,  meeting  in  a  point,  gules  ;  supporters — 
two  horses,  argent,  saddled  and  bridled,  gules  ;  crest — a  demi- 
eagle,  wings  expanded,  proper. 

*  Fasti  Eccl.  Scot.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  597,  664  ;  Montrose  Parish  Records, 
•f-  Montrose  Parish  Records. 


DOMESTIC  EVERYDAY  LIFE,  MANNERS,  AND 
CUSTOMS  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 

BY  GEORGE  HARRIS,  LL.D.,  F.S.A., 

Fellow  of  the  Royal  Historical  Society,  and  Vice- President  of  the 
Anthropological  Institute. 

THERE  is  nothing  which  contributes  more  fully  to  throw 
light  on  the  manners  and  habits  of  a  people,  or  more  forcibly 
to  exhibit  to  us  the  tone  of  thought  which  prevailed  among 
them,  than  the  rites  and  ceremonies  that  they  adopted 
connected  with  their  religion.  And  the  wilder  and  more 
extravagant  the  superstitions  which  in  such  a  nation  prevailed, 
the  more  strikingly  do  they  evince  the  tone  of  thought  and 
feeling  that  animated  the  people.  Potent  everywhere,  and 
under  whatever  phase,  as  was  the  influence  of  these  notions, 
they  served  in  each  case  to  develop  the  whole  mind  and 
character  of  the  nation ;  as  each  passion,  and  emotion,  and 
faculty,  were  exerted  to  the  very  utmost  on  a  subject  of  such 
surpassing  interest  to  them  all.  Imagination  here,  relieved 
from  all  restraint,  spread  her  wings  and  soared  aloft,  disporting 
herself  in  her  wildest  mood  ;  and  the  remoter  the  period  to 
which  the  history  of  any  particular  country  reaches,  and  the 
more  barbarous  the  condition  in.  which  the  people  existed, 
the  more  striking,  and  the  more  extraordinary  to  us,  appear 
the  superstitions  by  which  they  were  influenced.  Human 
nature  is  by  this  means  developed  to  the  full,  all  its  energies 
are  exerted  to  the  utmost,  and  the  internal  machinery  by  which 
its  movements  are  impelled,  is  stimulated  to  active  operation. 
We  gaze  with  wonder  and  with  awe  upon  the  spectacle  thus 
exhibited.  However  involuntarily,  we  respect  a  people — mis- 
guided and  erring  as  they  were — whose  eagerness  to  follow 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  365 

whatever  their  conscience  prompted,  urged  them  to  impose 
such  revolting  duties  on  themselves  ;  while  we  regard,  with 
pity  and  with  horror,  those  hideous  exploits  which  were  the 
fruit  of  that  misguided  zeal.  Through  the  wide  and  varied 
range  of  the  history  of  the  world,  no  subject  can  be  found 
which  exceeds  this  in  the  interest  that  it  excites  in  every  re- 
flecting mind  ;  nor  in  the  instruction  which,  to  those  of  every 
period  and  of  every  country  alike,  it  is  capable  of  imparting. 

In  the  consideration  of  the  branch  of  the  subject  now  before 
us,  we  have  not,  as  in  the  former  cases,  to  inquire  into  the 
invention  of  the  system  by  the  ingenuity  of  man  ;  but  to 
endeavour  to  ascertain  by  what  means,  the  system  itself— 
which  had  probably  been  originally  imparted  in  all  its  grand 
and  leading  features  to  the  mind  of  man  by  the  Divinity  him- 
self—  became  perverted  and  corrupted  by  the  carelessness 
or  wilfulness  or  ignorance  of  man.  A  rude  curiosity  urged 
him  to  try  and  discover  the  truth  that  had  been  obscured, 
or  to  find  out  for  himself  some  new  truth  which  would  conduct 
him  in  safety  on  his  career.  When  mankind  had  lost  the 
knowledge  of  the  true  God,  they  at  once  set  to  work  to  in- 
vent gods  for  themselves.  The  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  from 
their  majesty,  and  their  apparent  influence  on  our  world, 
offered  themselves  as  immediate  objects  of  adoration.  After 
them,  certain  animals  were  selected  for  this  purpose.  One 
ancient  writer  causes  Momus  to  express  his  surprise  and 
indignation  at  the  Egyptian  crew  of  apes,  goats,  bulls,  and 
other  creatures,  who  were  allowed,  according  to  their  notions, 
to  intrude  into  heaven  ;  and  wonders  how  Jupiter  can  toler- 
ate all  this,  and  allow  himself  to  be  caricatured  in  ram's 
horns.  To  which  Jupiter  replies,  that  they  were  mysteries 
not  to  be  decided  by  the  ignorant  and  uninitiated.  In  some 
parts  of  Egypt,  the  crocodile  was  an  object  of  worship.-f- 

After  animals,  mankind  were  led  to  worship  the  elements  01 
fire  and  water,  in  the  seas  and  rivers  near  the  spots  where 
they  lived  ;  and  whose  constant  motion  might  perhaps  have 
induced  persons  to  associate  with  them  some  notion  of  vitality 

*  Note  to  Sir  H.  Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  51,  52.         f  /#.,  p.  64. 


366      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

and  intelligence.  In  the  absence  of  having  real  objects  of 
worship,  rude  representations  of  them  were  in  time  adopted, 
whether  of  wood  or  stone,  whence  arose  the  origin  of  idolatrous 
worship  ;  and  the  necessity  of  providing  receptacles  for  these 
images,  and  for  those  who  were  required  to  take  care  of  them, 
and  to  assist  in  the  ceremonies  used  at  such  worship,  may 
have  originated  temples  and  a  priesthood. 

The  earliest  idols,  we  are  told,  were  rude  stocks.  Sometimes 
they  were  roughly  hewn,  so  as  to  increase  their  resemblance 
to  a  man  or  an  animal.  In  other  cases  large  blocks  of  stone 
were  selected  for  the  purpose,  on  which  were  cut  the  names 
of  the  gods  they  were  intended  to  represent.  No  sort  of  idol 
was  more  common  than  that  of  oblong  stones  erected.  In  some 
parts  of  Egypt  they  were  to  be  seen  on  each  side  of  the 
highways.  These  stones  were  generally  rendered  black,  which 
seems  to  have  been  thought  in  those  times  the  most  solemn 
colour,  and  suitable  for  objects  dedicated  to  religious  purposes. 
Some  persons  are  of  opinion  that  their  true  original  is  to  be 
derived  from  the  pillar  of  stone  which  the  patriarch  Jacob 
erected  at  Bethel.  Many  of  the  superstitions  rife  among  the 
Druids,  are  supposed  to  have  been  derived  from  Egypt,  among 
which  was  the  worship  of  the  serpent ;  whence  arose  the 
serpentine  form  in  which  many  of  their  temples  were  con- 
structed, and  probably  also  the  serpentine  lines  still  to  be 
traced  on  several  of  their  monuments.  Rude  stones,  some- 
times horizontal,  sometimes  perpendicular,  some  intended  for 
monuments,  others  for  altars,  and  groups  of  them  for  temples, 
were  also  used  by  those  who,  in  this  country  and  in  France, 
professed  the  religion  of  the  Druids. 

Several  of  the  barbarous  nations  worshipped  mountains. 
When  the  art  of  sculpture  had  been  invented,  rude  stones  and 
stocks  were  carved  so  as  to  resemble  real  and  living  beings, 
generally  men,  but  sometimes  animals.  This  we  also  observe 
in  the  Druidical  relics  which  are  still  in  existence,  a  remarkable 
instance  of  which  is  afforded  by  the  carvings,  mainly  serpentine 
lines,  in  the  interior  of  the  famous  Druidical  temple  on 
the  island  of  Gavr  Innis,  near  the  coast  of  Brittany. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  367 

Among  the  ancient  Greeks,  their  statues  were  generally 
made  of  wood.  Those  trees  which  were  sacred  to  any  god, 
were  generally  thought  most  acceptable  to  him  ;  and  therefore 
Jupiter's  statue  was  made  of  oak,  Venus's  of  myrtle,  that  of 
Hercules  of  poplar,  and  Minerva's  of  the  olive  tree.*  The 
learned  Bishop  Godwin,  in  his  work  on  the  civil  and  ecclesi- 
astical rites  of  the  ancient  Hebrews,-f-  refers  to  the  images 
possessed  by  Laban,  which  he  supposes  to  have  been  used  as 
household  gods  ;  and  the  writer  remarks  that  "  among  other 
reasons  why  Rachel  stole  away  her  father's  images,  this  is 
thought  to  be  one,  that  Laban  might  not  by  consulting  with 
these  images  discover  what  way  Jacob  took  his  flight." 

The  first  generations  of  men,  we  are  told,  had  neither 
temples  nor  statues  for  their  gods,  but  worshipped  towards 
heaven  in  the  open  air.  The  Greeks  and  most  other  nations, 
worshipped  their  gods  upon  the  tops  of  high  mountains.  And 
even  Abraham  was  commanded  by  God  to  offer  his  son  Isaac 
upon  one  of  the  mountains  in  the  land  of  Moriah.  In  later 
ages,  temples  were  often  built  upon  the  summits  of  mountains  ; 
and  both  at  Athens  and  Rome  the  most  sacred  temples  stood 
in  the  highest  parts  of  the  city.  Several  of  the  heathen  temples 
are  thought  to  have  been  at  first  only  stately  monuments 
erected  in  honour  of  the  dead.  The  temples  in  the  country 
were  generally  surrounded  with  groves  sacred  to  the  tutelar 
deity  of  the  place  where,  before  the  invention  of  temples,  the 
gods  were  worshipped.  The  entrance  was  towards  the  west, 
and  the  altars  and  statues  towards  the  east ;  so  that  they  who 
came  to  worship  might  have  their  faces  towards  them,  because 
it  was  an  ancient  custom  among  the  heathens  to  worship  with 
their  faces  towards  the  east.j 

The  earliest  Grecian  temples  were  made  of  wood,  out  of 
which,  in  the  natural  progress  of  improvement,  grew  those  of 
stone.  Nearly  all  the  Grecian  temples  had  the  same  form — 
that  of  a  barn,  ornamented  with  columns  upon  the  fronts  and 
sides. 

*  Potter's  Grecian  Antiquities,  pp.  225,  226. 

t  Lib.  iv.,  chap,  ix.,  p.  171.        J  Arts  of  Greeks  and  Romans,  vol.  i.,  p.  295. 


368      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Herodotus  tells  us,  with  regard  to  the  Persians,  that  "  it  is 
not  their  practice  to  erect  statues,  or  temples,  or  altars,  but  they 
charge  those  with  folly  who  do  so  ;  because,  as  I  conjecture, 
they  do  not  think  the  gods  have  human  forms,  as  the  Greeks 
do.  They  are  accustomed  to  ascend  the  highest  parts  of  the 
mountains,  and  offer  sacrifice  to  Jupiter,  and  they  call  the  whole 
circle  of  the  heavens  by  the  name  of  Jupiter.  They  sacrifice 
to  the  sun  and  moon,  to  the  earth,  fire,  water,  and  the  winds. 
To  these  alone  they  have  sacrificed  from  the  earliest  times."  * 

Among  the  Romans,  the  places  dedicated  to  the  worship  of 
the  gods  were  called  temples,  and  were  consecrated  by  the 
augurs,  being  since  called  A  ugusta.  A  small  temple  or  chapel 
was  called  Sacellum.  A  wood  or  thicket  of  trees  consecrated 
to  religious  worship,  was  called  Lucus,  a  grove.  The  gods 
were  supposed  to  frequent  woods  and  fountains.  Moreover, 
the  solitude  of  groves  was  thought  very  fit  to  create  a  religi- 
ous awe  and  reverence  in  the  minds  of  the  people.  Some 
indeed  are  of  opinion  that  groves  derived  their  religious 
character  from  the  primitive  ages  of  man,  who  lived  in  such 
places  before  the  building  of  houses.  Thus,  from  the  houses 
of  men  were  derived  the  temples  and  habitations  of  the  gods. 

Originally,  altars  were  often  erected  under  the  shade  of  trees, 
and  they  were  simply  made  of  turf.  Sometimes  they  were 
covered  with  boughs.  To  turf  succeeded  stone,  the  most  com- 
mon material ;  brick,  marble,  and  metal.  Even  the  ashes,  and 
the  horns  of  the  victims  curiously  interlaced,  were  applied  for 
this  purpose,  from  which  arose  the  horns  of  the  altar. 

When  altars  were  first  used  by  pagans,  has  eluded  the 
researches  of  the  most  learned  antiquaries.  They  are  men- 
tioned in  the  sacred  writings  as  early  as  the  time  of  Cain  and 
Abel.  Under  the  patriarchal  dispensation,  they  were  the  most 
solemn  and  important  instruments  of  religion.  They  long 
preceded  temples  ;  and  from  the  summit  of  the  highest  hills 
their  fires  consumed  the  offerings  made  to  heaven.  Herodotus, 
however,  asserts  that  the  Egyptians  were  the  first  who  erected 
altars,  and  cast  statues,  in  honour  of  the  gods.  But  they  are 

*  Clio. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  369 

supposed  to  have  derived  their  superstitions  from  the  Chal- 
deans, who  first  corrupted  the  patriarchal  form  of  worship.* 

The  altar  of  the  twelve  gods  at  Athens  stood  in  the  Forum, 
and  seems,  from  some  of  the  inscriptions  upon  it,  to  have 
served,  with  the  gilt  pillar  in  the  Forum  at  Rome,  as  a  central 
point  from  which  to  measure  distances.^ 

The  mode  of  constructing  altars,  and  the  materials  out  of 
which  they  were  made,  appear  to  have  varied  considerably 
among  different  nations,  and  at  different  periods.  Originally, 
that  is,  in  the  patriarchal  times,  they  consisted  merely  of  earthy 
clods  piled  one  on  another.  They  were  next  made  of  stones 
laid  rudely  or  scientifically  together,  according  to  the  degree 
of  civilisation  attained  by  those  who  erected  them.  Marble 
was  afterwards  used.  But  wood  and  the  horns  of  animals  are 
said  to  have  been  the  most  expensive  materials,  since  they 
admitted  greater  perfection  in  the  workmanship  and  more 
costly  ornaments. 

The  form  of  these  altars  was  either  square,  round,  or  oval, 
according  to  the  taste  or  notions  of  the  builder.  The  height 
was  usually  that  of  a  man's  waist,  but  occasionally  much 
greater.  In  some  cases  the  size  must  have  been  considerable, 
as,  besides  the  space  necessary  for  the  consumption  of  the 
victim,  the  surface  held  the  statue  of  the  god  or  gods  to  whom 
the  altars  were  consecrated.  They  were  invariably  turned 
towards  the  east,  a  custom  followed  in  the  Roman  Catholic, 
and  indeed  in  most  Christian  churches. 

The  most  ancient  altars  were  adorned  with  horns,  and  it  is 
to  be  observed  that  the  figures  of  Roman  altars  upon  medals 
are  never  without  horns,  while  the  altars  which  still  remain  in 
the  ruins  of  old  Rome  have  the  same  ornament]:  The  horns 
of  the  altar  served  for  various  purposes.  The  victims  were 
fastened  to  them.  Suppliants,  who  fled  to  the  altar  for  refuge, 
caught  hold  of  the  horns. 

Upon  some  part  of  the  altar  was  commonly  engraved  the 

*  Arts  of  Greeks  and  Romans,  vol.  i.,  p.  60. 
t  Note  to  Sir  H.  Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii.,  p.  7. 
£  Potter's  Grecian  Antiquities,  p.  299. 
2  A 


370      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

name  or  ensign  of  the  god  to  whom  it  was  dedicated,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  Athenian  altar  upon  which  St  Paul  observed 
the  inscription,  "  To  the  unknown  God."* 

Altars  were  consecrated  with  oil,  which  was  poured  upon 
them.  Sometimes  ashes  were  used  tempered  with  water.^f- 

The  ancient  use  of  altars  appears  to  have  been  threefold  : 
i.  To  offer  sacrifices  and  prayers  to  the  gods  to  whom  they 
were  dedicated.  2.  To  render  alliances  and  oaths  more 
solemn.  3.  To  serve  as  an  asylum  or  place  of  refuge  for 
those  who  fled  to  them.| 

When  a  temple  was  erected,  it  was  always  dedicated  to 
some  divinity.  Among  the  Romans  the  dedication  had  to 
be  authorised  by  the  senate  and  the  people.  Early  in  the 
morning  the  college  of  the  pontiffs  and  other  orders  met,  with 
a  crowd  of  people,  and  surrounded  the  temple  with  garlands 
of  flowers.  The  vestal  virgins,  holding  in  their  hands 
branches  of  the  olive  tree,  sprinkled  the  outside  of  the  temple 
with  holy  water;  and  then  the  person  who  officiated  pro- 
nounced aloud  the  form  of  the  consecration,  after  which  the 
court  of  the  temple  was  consecrated  by  the  sacrifice  of  some 
beast  upon  the  altar.  § 

The  mode  of  sacrificing  to  the  gods,  adopted  by  the 
ancients,  differed  materially  among  different  people,  and  at 
different  periods.  Herodotus  tells  us  that  the  Persians  "  do 
not  erect  altars  or  kindle  fires  when  about  to  sacrifice ;  they 
do  not  use  libations,  or  flutes,  or  fillets,  or  cakes ;  but  when 
any  one  wishes  to  offer  sacrifice,  ...  he  leads  the  victim 
to  a  clean  spot,  and  invokes  the  god,  usually  having  his  tiara 
decked  with  myrtle.  .  .  .  When  he  has  cut  the  victim  into 
small  pieces,  and  boiled  the  flesh,  he  strews  under  it  a  bed  of 
tender  grass,  generally  trefoil,  and  then  lays  all  the  flesh  upon 
it.  When  he  has  put  everything  in  order,  one  of  the  magi 
standing  by  sings  an  ode,  .  .  .  which  they  say  is  the 
incantation.  .  .  .  After  having  waited  a  short  time,  he 

*  Potter's  Grecian  Antiquities,  p.  299. 

t  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities. 

£  Ib.  §  Ib.y  tit.  "Dedicatio." 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  371 

that  has  sacrificed  carries  away  the  flesh,  and  disposes  of  it  as 
he  thinks  fit."* 

Among  the  Egyptians,  we  are  informed  by  Herodotus  that 
great  care  was  taken  by  the  priests  in  examining  the  beasts 
selected  for  sacrifice.  "If  the  examiner,"  says  he,  "finds  one 
black  hair  upon  him,  he  adjudges  him  to  be  unclean  ;  and 
one  of  the  priests  appointed  for  this  purpose  makes  this 
examination,  both  when  the  animal  is  standing  up  and  lying 
down  ;  and  he  draws  out  the  tongue  to  see  if  it  is  pure  as  to 
the  prescribed  marks.  .  .  .  He  also  looks  at  the  hairs  of 
his  tail,  whether  they  grow  naturally.  .  .  .  Any  one  who 
sacrifies  an  animal  that  is  unmarked,  is  punished  with  death. 

.  .  The  established  mode  of  sacrifice  is  this  :  Having  led 
the  victim  properly  marked  to  the  altar  where  they  intend  to 
sacrifice,  they  kindle  a  fire  ;  then,  having  poured  wine  upon  the 
altar  near  the  victim,  and  having  invoked  the  god,  they  kill 
it  ;  and  after  they  have  killed  it  they  cut  off  the  head  ;  but 
they  flay  the  body  of  the  animal  ;  then,  having  pronounced 
many  imprecations  on  the  head,  they  who  have  a  market  and 
Grecian  merchants  dwelling  amongst  them,  carry  it  there,  and 
having  done  so,  they  usually  sell  it ;  but  they  who  have  no 
Grecians  amongst  them  throw  it  into  the  river,  and  they  pro- 
nounce the  following  imprecation  on  the  head  :  '  If  any  evil 
is  about  to  befall  either  those  that  now  sacrifice,  or  Egypt  in 
general,  may  it  be  averted  on  this  head.' "  -f- 

We  are  further  told  by  Herodotus  that  "  the  Egyptians 
consider  the  pig  to  be  an  impure  beast ;  and,  therefore,  if  a 
man  in  passing  by  a  pig  should  touch  him  only  with  his  gar- 
ments, he  forthwith  goes  to  the  river  and  plunges.  And,  in  the 
next  place,  swineherds,  although  native  Egyptians,  are  the 
only  men  who  are  not  allowed  to  enter  any  of  their  temples ; 
neither  will  any  man  give  his  daughter  in  marriage  to  one 
of  them,  nor  take  a  wife  from  among  them,  but  the  swine- 
herds intermarry  among  themselves.  The  Egyptians  there- 
fore do  not  think  it  right  to  sacrifice  swine  to  any  other 
deities ;  but  to  the  moon  and  Bacchus  they  do  sacrifice 
*  Clio.  t  Euterpe,  ii.  38,  39. 


372      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

them  at  the  same  time,  that  is,  at  the  same  full  moon,  and 
then  they  eat  of  the  flesh.  .  .  .  The  sacrifice  of  pigs 
to  the  moon  is  performed  in  the  following  manner :  When 
the  sacrificer  has  slain  the  victim,  he  puts  together  the  tip  of 
the  tail  with  the  spleen  and  the  caul,  and  then  covers  them 
with  the  fat  found  about  the  belly  of  the  animal,  and  next  he 
consumes  them  with  fire  ;  the  rest  of  the  flesh  they  eat  during 
the  full  moon  in  which  they  offer  the  sacrifices,  but  in  no 
other  day  would  one  even  taste  it.  The  poor  amongst  them, 
through  want  of  means,  form  pigs  of  dough,  and  having  baked 
them,  offer  them  in  sacrifice.  On  the  eve  of  the  festival  of 
Bacchus,  every  one  slays  a  pig  before  his  door,  and  then 
restores  it  to  the  swineherd  that  sold  it,  that  he  may  carry  it 
away."* 

A  notion  is  still  prevalent  in  certain  agricultural  districts  in 
England,  that  the  time  of  the  full  moon  is  the  proper  period 
for  killing  pigs.  Whether  this  notion  had  its  origin  in  the 
ancient  superstition  alluded  to,  might  form  a  curious  subject 
of  inquiry. 

Xenophon,  in  his  account  of  the  expedition  of  Cyrus,  alludes 
to  this  custom  in  the  following  terms,  from  which  it  may  be 
inferred  that  it  was  then  in  use  among  the  Greeks  :  "  Next 
day,  Xenophon,  going  on  to  Ophrynium,  offered  a  sacrifice, 
burning  whole  hogs  after  the  custom  of  his  country,  and  found 
the  omens  favourable."  ~f 

Among  the  Greeks,  when  a  meeting  was  to  be  held  at  a 
particular  spot,  the  place  was  purified  by  killing  young  pigs, 
which,  as  was  usual  in  such  lustrations,  they  carried  round 
about  the  utmost  bounds  of  it.:]: 

Xenophon,  in  the  work  lately  quoted,  refers  to  the  sacrifice 
of  the  wolf,  as  practised  by  the  Persians. 

Herodotus  gives  the  following  account  of  perform- 
ing sacrifice  among  the  Scythians,  which,  he  says,  "  is 
adopted  with  respect  to  all  kinds  of  victims  alike :  "  "  The 
victim  itself  stands  with  its  fore  feet  tied  together ;  he 
who  sacrifices  standing  behind  the  beast,  having  drawn 
*  Euterpe,  ii.  47,  48.  f  B.  vii.  J  Potter's  Grecian  Antiquities. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  373 

the  extremity  of  the  cord,  throws  it  down  ;  and  as  the  victim 
falls,  he  invokes  the  god  to  whom  he  is  sacrificing ;  then  he 
throws  a  halter  round  its  neck,  and  having  put  in  a  stick,  he 
twists  it  round  and  strangles  it,  without  kindling  any  fire,  or 
performing  any  preparatory  ceremonies,  or  making  any  liba- 
tion ;  but  having  strangled  and  flayed  it,  he  applies  himself  to 
cook  it."* 

Athenaeus  tells  us  that  the  Boeotians  were  wont  to  sacrifice 
eels  of  an  unusual  size,  taken  in  Cofais,  a  lake  of  that 
country ;  and  that  about  these  they  performed  all  the  cere- 
monies usual  at  other  sacrifices.-f 

Among  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  at  the  entrance  of 
their  temples  there  was  a  pond  or  basin  used  by  the  priest 
for  ablution  before  sacrificing  to  the  superior  gods,  merely 
sprinkling  being  deemed  sufficient  for  the  infernal  deities. 
The  priest,  clad  in  white,  and  crowned  with  branches  of  the 
tree  dedicated  to  the  god,  carried  the  vessel  for  holding  wine. 
He  was  attended  by  children,  who  carried  vessels  and 
baskets.  The  musicians  belonging  to  the  temple  played  on 
flutes  during  the  sacrifice  ;  the  popce  or  mctimarii  were  naked 
to  the  girdle  ;  there  were  assistants  or  partakers,  bearing 
vessels  of  various  kinds  ;  also  the  sacrificers,  who,  among  the 
Romans,  although  not  among  the  Greeks,  had  the  head 
veiled,  unless  the  god  to  be  sacrificed  to  was  Saturn.  The 
victim  was  adorned  with  bandeaux  or  garlands,  sometimes 
with  fillets  and  trappings.  The  priest  walked  round  the 
altar  several  times,  holding  his  hand  upon  his  mouth,  and 
then  poured  the  wine  upon  the  altar,  concluding  with  pluck- 
ing some  of  the  hair  from  the  victim,  and  casting  it  into  the 
fire.  Then  was  the  time  for  the  victimarius  to  take  the  knife 
for  cutting  the  throat  of  the  victim,  or  the  axe  to  knock  him 
down.  The  blood  was  collected  and  the  skin  taken  off ;  then 
the  heraspes,  or  flamen,  examined  the  entrails  for  the  prog- 
nostics, and  presages  were  also  formed  from  the  burning  of 
the  incense,  and  from  the  motion  and  windings  of  the  smoke. 

Herodotus  informs  us  that  the  priests  washed  themselves 

*  Melpomene,  v.  60.  t  Potter's  Grecian  Antiquities. 


374      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

thrice  every  day  and  thrice  every  night  in  cold  water,  besides 
three  ablutions  every  day,  and  an  occasional  one  at  night. 
They  also  shaved  not  only  the  head  and  beard,  but  removed 
the  hair  from  the  whole  body.* 

Baked  bread  was  supplied  every  day  to  the  priest  from 
the  sacred  corn,  as  also  a  plentiful  amount  of  beef  and  of 
goose  flesh,  as  well  as  wine,  as  Herodotus  tells  us.  Fish  was, 
however,  forbidden  to  the  priests.  They  also  abstained  from 
mutton  and  pork  ;  and  on  the  occasion  of  their  more  solemn 
purifications,  they  were  not  allowed  to  eat  salt  with  their 
meals.  Garlic,  onions,  and  beans,  particularly  beans,  were 
excluded  from  the  tables  of  the  priests.^ 

The  priest,  while  offering  sacrifice,  was  attired  in  a  black 
gown,  in  order  to  prevent  his  clothes  being  tarnished  by  the 
smoke.  Hence  the  origin  of  the  black  gown  adopted  by  the 
clergy  of  all  denominations,  which  is  still  in  common  use.J 

Women  as  well  as  men  were  employed  to  officiate  in  im- 
portant duties  in  the  temples,  among  the  Egyptians.§ 

As  regards  the  kind  of  animal  offered  up  in  sacrifice,  this 
appears  to  have  depended  upon  the  particular  god  to  whom, 
and  the  person  by  whom,  it  was  offered.  A  shepherd  would 
sacrifice  a  sheep,  a  neat-herd  an  ox,  and  a  goat-herd  a  goat. 
And  Athenaeus  asserts  that  a  fisherman,  after  a  plentiful 
draught,  would  offer  a  tunny  to  Neptune.  To  the  infernal 
and  evil  gods  they  offered  black  victims  ;  to  the  good,  white  ; 
to  the  barren,  barren  ones  ;  to  the  fruitful,  pregnant  ones ;  to 
the  masculine  gods,  male,  and  to  the  feminine,  female  victims. 
Men  as  well  as  animals  were  sometimes  offered  up.  || 

It  was  also  an  established  rule  that  the  sacrifices  should  cor- 
respond with  the  condition  and  quality  of  the  person  by  whom 
they  were  offered.  From  a  poor  man  the  smallest  oblations 
were  acceptable.  If  he  could  not  afford  to  sacrifice  a  real 
ox,  he  might  offer  one  made  of  bread.  Men  of  wealth  when 

*  Note  to  Sir  H.  Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii.,  p.  52.  f  fb.,  p.  56. 

J  Arts  of  Greeks  and  Romans,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  120,  129. 
§  Note  to  Sir  H.  Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii.,  p.  47. 
||  Potter's  Grecian  Antiquities. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  375 

they  had  received  or  desired  any  great  favour  from  the  gods, 
offered  a  great  number  of  animals  at  once,  as  for  instance,  a 
hundred  oxen.* 

The  primitive  Greeks  were  accustomed  to  offer  up  the  tongues 
of  animals,  together  with  a  libation  of  wine  to  Mercury  as  the 
god  of  eloquence.  Sometimes  they  were  offered  with  a  view 
of  making  an  expiation  for  some  indecent  language  that  had 
been  spoken ;  or  in  token  that  they  entrusted  to  the  gods  as 
witnesses  the  discourse  which  had  passed  at  the  table ;  or  to 
signify  that  what  had  been  spoken  there  ought  not  to  be 
remembered  afterwards,  or  divulged.*}* 

Solemn  festivals  were  very  common  among  the  Egyptians, 
Greeks,  and  Romans.  One  of  the  most  important  at  Sparta 
was  that  of  the  Gymnopsediae,  or  naked  youths,  which  lasted 
several  days,  where  the  grace  and  strength  of  the  Spartan 
youth  were  exhibited  to  their  admiring  countrymen,  and  to 
foreigners.  Wrestling  and  dancing  were  the  chief  exercises. } 

One  very  remarkable  festival  which  was  observed  among 
the  Romans,  was  called  the  Feast  of  Wolves,  in  comme- 
moration of  Romulus  and  Remus  having  been  nursed  by  a 
she-wolf.  The  famous  statue  of  the  wolf  suckling  these 
infants  is  still  preserved  in  the  Capitol  at  Rome.  This  statue 
is  made  of  bronze,  and  is  very  ancient,  being  referred  to  by 
the  historian  Livy,  and  was  once  struck  by  lightning.  The 
priests  who  officiated  at  this  festival,  who  were  called  Luperci, 
began  their  course  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Palatine,  called  by 
the  Romans  Lupercal — that  is,  the  place  where  the  wolf 
nursed  Romulus.  Bishop  Godwin  thus  describes  the  cere- 
monies :  "  Two  goats  were  slain,  and  two  noblemen's  sons 
were  to  be  present,  whose  foreheads  being  blooded  with  the 
knives  of  them  that  had  slain  the  goats,  by-and-by  were  to 
be  dried  up  with  wool  dipped  in  milk.  Then  the  young  boys 
must  laugh  immediately  after  their  foreheads  were  dry.  That 
done,  they  cut  the  goat-skins,  and  made  thongs  of  them, 
which  they  took  in  their  hands,  and  ran  with  them  all  about 

*  Potter's  Grecian  Antiquities,  259.  +  Ib.,  77. 

t  Note  to  Sir  H.  Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol.  iii.,  p.  372. 


376      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

the  city  stark  naked,  and  so  they  struck  with  those  thongs  all 
they  met  in  their  way."* 

A  dog  was  also  sacrificed  at  this  time,  because  there  is  a 
natural  antipathy  between  the  dog  and  the  wolf. 

The  Roman  historian  Livy  complained  in  the  year  of  Rome 
539  that  "the  Roman  rites  are  growing  into  disuse,  not  only 
in  private  and  within  doors,  but  in  public  also.  In  the  Forum 
and  Capitol  there  are  crowds  of  women  sacrificing,  and  offer- 
ing up  prayers  to  the  gods,  in  modes  unusual  in  that  country. 
A  low  order  of  sacrificers  and  soothsayers  has  enslaved  men's 
understandings,  and  the  number  of  these  is  increased  by  the 
country  people,  whom  want  and  terror  has  driven  into  the 
city." 

It  was  customary  for  worshippers  when  in  temples,  to  con- 
ceal the  hands,  out  of  reverence.  They  had  also  the  head 
covered  during  prayer,  when  standing.  While  kneeling,  the 
head  and  face  were  covered,  with  the  right  hand  upon  the 
mouth,  the  forefinger  being  inclined  to  the  thumb — a  gesture 
also  used  in  passing  a  temple.  The  Romans  of  regular  habits 
came  to  the  temples,  which  were  open  to  every  person,  and 
often  lighted  before  day,  temples  having  no  windows.  Those 
who  could  not  go  to  the  temple  atoned  for  the  omission  by 
resorting  to  their  oratories.  A  priest  read  the  prayers  from  a 
book,  which  were  repeated  by  the  people,  turned  towards  the 
east,  with  their  heads  veiled,  in  order  to  prevent  their  attention 
from  being  disturbed  by  any  ill  omen.  They  touched  the 
altar  while  they  prayed,  and  advanced  the  hand  from  the  lips 
towards  the  images  of  the  gods.  The  young  of  both  sexes 
also  sung  hymns,  accompanied  by  music.^ 

The  Greeks  prayed  standing  or  sitting.  Before  entering 
the  temple,  they  purified  themselves  by  lustral  water,  which 
was  common  water  wherein  a  burning  torch  from  the  altar 
had  been  quenched,  and  which  stood  in  a  large  vase  at  the 
entrance  to  the  temple. 

We  are  assured  that  the  piety  of  the  ancient  Greeks,  and 

*  Bishop  Godwin's  Roman  Antiquities,  lib.  ii.,  sec.  ii.,  cap.  I,  fols.  41,  42. 
t  Arts  of  Greeks  and  Romans,  vol.  i.,  p.  295. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  377 

the  reverence  which  they  entertained  towards  their  deities, 
was  in  nothing  more  evinced  than  by  the  continual  prayers 
and  supplications  which  they  made  to  them.  Plato  asserts 
that  no  man  amongst  them  that  was  endued  with  the  smallest 
prudence,  would  undertake  anything  without  having  first 
invoked  the  advice  and  assistance  of  the  gods.  And  this  was 
practised  by  the  whole  nation  as  well  as  by  their  philosophers, 
and  in  the  most  primitive  times.  Moreover,  every  night  and 
morning  it  was  the  universal  practice  for  the  people  to  recom- 
mend themselves  to  their  several  deities.*  "At  the  rising 
both  of  the  sun  and  moon,"  says  Plato,  "  one  might  every- 
where behold  both  the  Greeks  and  barbarians,  those  in 
prosperity  as  well  as  those  under  calamities  and  afflictions, 
prostrating  themselves,  and  hear  their  supplications." 

There  was  a  notion  among  the  people  in  ancient  times,  that 
their  prayers  were  more  acceptable,  and  more  successful, 
when  offered  in  a  barbarous  and  unknown  language.  The 
reason  assigned  was,  that  the  first  and  native  languages  of 
mankind,  though  barbarous  and  uncouth,  yet  consisted  of 
words  and  names  more  agreeable  to  nature.  On  this  account 
it  was  customary  for  magicians,  and  those  who  pretended  to 
have  a  more  intimate  familiarity  with  the  gods  than  other 
men,  to  make  their  petitions  in  barbarous  and  unknown 
sounds.^ 

Among  the  Romans,  it  was  customary  for  the  senate  to 
decree  great  religious  solemnities  on  the  occasion  of  extra- 
ordinary victories,  which  were  intended  as  thanksgivings  to 
the  gods.  The  temples  were  then  thrown  open,  and  the 
statues  of  the  deities  placed  in  public  upon  couches.  Before 
them  the  people  gave  expression  to  their  thankfulness.  The 
extent  of  the  victory  generally  determined  the  duration  of 
the  festival.  Although  sometimes  decreed  for  only  one 
day,  its  usual  period  was  three  or  five.  Pompey  had  ten 
days  decreed  upon  the  conclusion  of  the  war  with  Mithri- 
dates.  Caesar  obtained  one  of  fifteen  days.J 

*  Potter's  Grecian  Antiquities.  t  /<&.,  88. 

J  Note  to  Bonn's  Caesar,  pp.  63,  64. 


378      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

On  certain  occasions  expiations  were  required  to  be  made 
by  way  of  satisfaction  to  some  deity  for  the  commission  of  a 
crime.  The  forms  of  expiation  were,  however,  as  various  as 
the  causes  were  numerous.  Among  the  Greeks,  if  a  homicide 
of  high  position  wished  to  appease  the  gods  in  order  to 
avert  vengeance,  the  sacrificial  rites  for  the  occasion  were 
performed  by  some  one  of  high  dignity,  very  often  by  the 
sovereign  ;  a  sucking  pig  was  laid  on  the  altar,  and  killed 
with  unusual  solemnity  ;  the  hands  of  the  homicide  were 
sprinkled  with  the  blood  ;  libations  were  offered  to  Jupiter 
Expiator ;  the  remnants  of  the  sacrifice  were  thrown  away  ; 
and  cakes  composed  of  meal,  salt,  and  water,  were  burnt  on 
the  altar,  while  prayers  were  devoutly  offered  to  the  Furies. 
Sometimes  expiations  were  made  for  whole  cities  ;  and  in 
the  more  ancient  times  to  remove,  or  prevent,  or  to  avert  an 
impending  calamity,  human  victims  were  offered  up.  Sub- 
sequently, human  blood  was  regarded  as  the  most  expiatory  ; 
and  parents  brought  their  own  children  for  the  purpose  of  see- 
ing their  blood  sprinkled  over  the  culprit.* 

When  any  great  and  public  calamity  occurred  among  the 
Romans,  especially  when  the  plague  broke  out,  the  ceremony 
called  Lectisternium  was  observed,  on  which  occasion  the  statues 
of  the  gods  were  brought  down  from  their  bases  or  pedestals, 
and  laid  upon  beds  made  for  the  purpose  in  their  temples, 
with  pillows  under  their  heads  ;  and  in  this  posture  they  were 
magnificently  entertained.  All  the  gates  of  the  city  were 
opened,  and  the  tables  were  everywhere  served  with  meat. 
Foreigners,  whether  known  or  unknown,  were  feasted  and 
lodged  without  cost,  and  all  matters  of  hatred  or  quarrel 
were  forgotten.f 

The  office  of  augur  was  held  in  high  estimation  among  the 
Romans,  since,  from  their  extraordinary  superstition,  nothing 
was  undertaken  without  consulting  one.  He  occupied  the 
sacred  college  of  the  priesthood,  ruling  immediately  below 
the  pontiffs.  He  was  never  deprived  of  his  dignity,  whatever 

*  Arts  of  Greeks  and  Romans,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  163,  164. 

t  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities,  tit.  "Lectisternium." 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  379 

might  be  his  crimes.  Clad  in  his  robe  of  scarlet  and  purple, 
the  augur  on  days  of  ceremony  turned  towards  the  east, 
and  with  his  staff,  marked  out  a  tract  in  the  sky  which  he 
called  Templum.  He  then  proceeded  to  observe  the  birds 
which  approached  to,  or  passed  over  that  tract,  their  species, 
their  manner  of  flight,  and  the  attitudes  which  they  assumed. 
The  signs  on  the  left  hand  were  happy  ;  those  on  the  right 
of  bad  omen.  Sometimes  the  divination  was  effected  by 
domestic  fowls,  to  which  a  kind  of  cake  was  thrown.  If  they 
ate  with  eagerness,  as  if  they  were  really  hungry  and  were 
blessed  with  good  appetites,  and  if,  during  the  process  of 
eating,  the  crumbs  fell  freely  to  the  ground,  the  sign  was 
favourable  ;  otherwise,  it  was  unfavourable.  If  they  refused 
to  eat  at  all,  which  we  may  infer  they  would  do  if  they  had 
already  secured  plenty,  it  was  considered  that  an  awful  crisis 
was  at  hand.  One  of  the  sages  of  antiquity,  when  his 
chickens,  from  some  cause  or  other,  whether  reasonable  or 
unreasonable,  refused  to  pick  up  his  crumbs,  had  them 
thrown  into  the  sea,  exclaiming,  "  If  they  won't  eat,  they 
shall  drink."* 

We  are  told  that  the  Lycians,  when  they  wished  to  ascer- 
tain beforehand  whether  any  undertaking  was  likely  to  be 
successful  or  not,  went  to  a  fountain  dedicated  to  Apollo,  and 
threw  into  it  baits  for  the  fish.  If  the  fishes  ate  them,  it  foretold 
good  luck ;  if  they  refused  them,  then  they  might  be  sure 
that  the  undertaking  would  turn  out  unlucky.*!* 

The  howl  of  the  dog  was  also  considered  ominous,  as  it  is, 
indeed,  by  some  superstitious  persons  at  the  present  day. 
Among  the  Egyptians  the  dog  was  held  in  great  venera- 
tion, and  divine  honours  were  paid  to  it.  In  Greece  and 
Rome  dogs  were  sometimes  sacrificed  to  the  gods ;  by  the 
former  to  Pan,  by  the  latter  to  their  domestic  Lares.  Both 
in  Greece  and  Rome  they  were  offered  during  the  dog- 
days,  probably  as  a  preservative  against  the  bite  of  that 

*  Arts  of  Greeks  and  Romans,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  69,  70. 

t  Bishop  Godwin's  Roman  Antiquities,  lib.  ii.,  sec.  ii.,  cap.  7. 


380      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

animal.*  Indeed,  it  has  been  asserted  that  the  Romans 
crucified  a  dog  every  year,  on  account  of  the  dogs  not 
having  given  warning  by  their  barking  when  the  Gauls 
entered  .  Rome,  but  of  which  the  geese,  by  their  cack- 
ling, affected  timely  notice.  Therefore,  in  order  to  do  due 
honour  to  these  illustrious  birds,  the  Romans  carried  a 
goose  of  silver  in  an  elbow-chair,  laid  upon  a  pillow.  One 
ancient  writer  asserts  that  the  Ethiopians  had  a  dog  for  their 
king  ;•[•  and  who  possibly  might  have  ruled  quite  as  wisely  as 
some  human  kings  have  done. 

The  actions  of  animals  offered  in  sacrifice,  were  observed 
with  great  care  as  particularly  ominous.  It  was  customary 
to  pour  water  in  the  animal's  ear,  in  order  that  it  might,  by 
nodding  its  head,  signify  its  consent  to  be  sacrificed.  If  it 
wagged  its  tail,  that  was  a  good  omen.  Indeed  the  tail 
appears  to  have  been  considered  as  one  of  the  most  ominous 
parts  of  the  body.  If,  when  cut  off  and  thrown  into  the 
fire,  it  curled  up,  this  foretold  some  misfortune.  When  it 
was  extended  out  at  length  and  hung  downward,  this  was  an 
omen  of  some  overthrow  about  to  happen.  But  when  it  was 
cocked  up,  this  was  a  sure  presage  of  a  victory.^ 

It  was  considered  a  good  sign  when,  at  a  sacrifice,  the 
flames  immediately  took  hold  of  and  consumed  the  victim, 
seizing  at  once  all  the  parts  of  it ;  on  which  account  the  priests 
took  care  to  have  the  sticks  quite  dry  so  that  they  would 
easily  take  fire.  So,  too,  it  was  regarded  as  fortunate  if  the 
flame  was  bright  and  pure,  and  without  noise  or  smoke.  Also, 
if  the  sparks  tended  upward  in  the  form  of  a  pyramid,  and  if 
the  fire  did  not  go  out  until  all  was  reduced  to  ashes.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  was  deemed  unlucky  if  the  fire  would  not 
easily  light ;  or  if,  instead  of  ascending  straight  upwards,  it 
whirled  round,  turning  sideways  or  downwards,  when  it  sent 
out  smoke  or  sparks,  or  died  out  before  all  the  sacrifice  was 
consumed.§ 

*  Arts  of  Greeks  and  Romans,  vol.  ii.,  p.  lor. 

t  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities,  tit.  "  Canis  " 

t  Potter's  Grecian  Antiquities,  p.  367.  §  Ib.,  p.  371. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  381 

It  may  be  observed,  however,  that  nothing  was  confirmed 
by  the  augurs  without  the  appearance  of  two  lucky  omens,  one 
after  another,  nor  did  one  evil  omen  by  itself  count ;  *  which 
may  be  satisfactory  to  some  of  the  superstitiously  disposed  at 
the  present  day.  Spilling  the  salt  at  table,  as  also  wine  on 
the  clothes,  was  deemed  ominous  in  those  days/f" 

It  was  considered  by  the  Greeks  that  if  a  man  sneezed  in 
the  afternoon  it  was  a  good  omen,  but  a  bad  one  in  the  morn- 
ing. If  a  man  sneezed  at  table  while  they  were  taking  away, 
or  if  another  happened  to  sneeze  at  the  left  hand  of  a  man, 
then  persons  were  told  to  beware  that  all  is  not  right ;  but  if 
on  the  other  hand,  then  all  is  well.J 

Those  Grecians  who  wished  to  dream  a  prophetical  dream, 
were  recommended  to  sacrifice  a,  ram  to  Amphiaraus,  and  to 
sleep  upon  the  fleece.  Plutarch  tells  us  that  if  we  eat  good  ripe 
fruit  our  dreams  will  be  the  truer.  The  dreams  most  to  be 
relied  upon,  we  are  informed,  are  those  which  take  place 
towards  the  morning.  Pliny  says  a  dream  is  never  true  soon 
after  eating  and  drinking.§  Consequently,  those  who  are 
careful  about  their  dreams  will  do  well  to  avoid  late  suppers. 

The  omens  that  appeared  towards  the  east,  were  accounted 
fortunate  by  the  Greeks,  Romans,  and  all  other  nations,  on 
the  ground  that  the  sun  rises  in  that  direction.  On  the  other 
hand,  omens  to  the  west  were  deemed  unlucky.  So  also 
signs  on  the  right  hand  were  accounted  fortunate,  those  on 
the  left  unfortunate.  ||  Great  attention  was  paid  to  the 
flight  of  birds,  and  to  the  peculiar  manner  in  which  they 
moved.  The  eagle,  if  she  appeared  brisk,  clapping  her  wings, 
sporting  about  in  the  air,  or  flying  from  the  right  hand  to  the 
left,  was  one  of  the  best  omens  the  gods  could  give.  The 
flight  of  vultures  was  also  much  observed.  The  hawk  was 
deemed  an  unlucky  omen.  Swallows  flying  about,  or  resting 
upon  a  place,  were  also  deemed  to  forebode  no  good.  Owls 
were  in  general  regarded  as  unlucky  birds  ;  but  at  Athens  they 

*  Bishop  Godwin's  Roman  Antiquities,  lib.  ii.,  sec.  ii.,  cap.'  6,  pp.  48,  49. 
t  Ib.  J  Rous's  Attic  Antiquities,  lib.  vii.,  cap.  2,  p.  368. 

§  Ib.,  lib.  vii.,  cap.  4,  pp.  348-350-  II  /*-,  375.  376. 


382      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

were  considered  to  foretell  victory,  being  sacred  to  Minerva, 
the  protectress  of  that  city.  The  dove  was  a  lucky  bird,  as 
was  also  the  swan.* 

Ants  were  made  use  of  in  divination,  and  bees  were  esteemed 
an  omen  of  future  eloquence.  Toads  were  accounted  lucky 
omens,  but  boars  were  unlucky.-f- 

A  Gnostic  papyrus,  or  ancient  Egyptian  roll,  in  the  British 
Museum,  discovered  in  Egypt,  mentions  divination  "  through 
a  boy  with  a  lamp,  a  bowl,  and  a  pit,"  very  like  what  is  now 
practised  in  Egypt  and  Barbary.  It  also  contains  spells  for 
obtaining  power  over  spirits,  for  discovering  a  thief,  for  com- 
manding another  man's  actions,  for  obtaining  any  wish,  and 
for  preventing  anything.  Others  in  the  Leyden  Museum  con- 
tain recipes  of  good  fortune,, for  procuring  dreams,  for  making 
a  ring  to  bring  good  fortune  and  success  in  every  enterprise, 
for  causing  separation  between  man  and  wife,  for  occasioning 
restless  nights,  and  for  making  one's  self  loved.j 

Comets  were  always  thought  to  portend  something  dread- 
ful. So  also  were  eclipses  of  the  sun  or  moon,  with  which 
several  armies  have  been  much  'terrified.  If  lightning  ap- 
peared to  the  right,  it  was  deemed  fortunate ;  if  to  the  left, 
unlucky.  Earthquakes  were  unfortunate  omens,  and  were 
generally  supposed  to  be  caused  by  Neptune.  It  was  an  un- 
lucky omen  to  have  anything  thunderstruck.  In  order  to 
avert  unlucky  omens  given  by  thunder,  it  was  usual  to  make 
a  libation  of  wine,  pouring  it  out  in  cups.  At  Rome,  places 
affected  by  thunder  were  enclosed  by  a  public  officer,  and  the 
fragments  of  thunderbolts  were  carefully  buried  for  fear  any 
person  should  be  polluted  by  touching  them.§ 

Tacitus  alludes  to  the  appearance  of  a  comet  during  the 
reign  of  Nero,  which,  he  says,  was  a  "  phenomenon  which, 
according  to  the  persuasion  of  the  vulgar,  portended  a  change 
to  some  kingdoms."  ||  He  also  records  that  "  the  popular  voice 
was  further  stimulated  by  the  construction  put,  in  the  same 

*  Potter's  Grecian  Antiquities,  377,  379.  t  Ib.,  382. 

£  Note  to  Sir  H.  Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  115,  116. 

§  Potter's  Grecian  Antiquities,  pp.  383,  385,  386.  ||  Annals,  b.  xiv.,  c.  22. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  383 

spirit  of  superstition,  upon  a  flash  of  lightning ;  for  as  Nero 
sat  at  meat  in  a  villa  called  Sublaqueum,  upon  the  banks  of 
the  Simbruina  lakes,  the  viands  were  struck  by  lightning  and 
the  table  overthrown ;  and  as  this  occurrence  took  place  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Tibur,  whence  the  paternal  ancestors  of 
Plautus  sprang,  they  believed  that  this  was  the  man  predes- 
tinated for  the  empire  by  the  decree  of  the  deities."*  The 
same  renowned  historian  also  states,  in  a  subsequent  book  of 
his  Annals,  that  "  in  the  close  of  the  year  the  public  mind  was 
occupied  with  accounts  of  prodigies  which  seemed  the  har- 
bingers of  impending  calamities.  At  no  other  time  did  the 
lightning  flash  with  such  frequency ;  there  appeared,  also,  a 
comet,  an  omen  ever  expiated  by  Nero  with  the  effusion  of 
illustrious  blood. "^ 

Livy  alludes  to  the  clang  of  arms  during  a  battle  as  being 
"  similar  to  that  which  is  usually  made  in  the  dead  of  night 
when  the  moon  is  eclipsed,"  J  a  practice  which  is  still  pursued 
by  some  superstitious  northern  nations.  Tacitus  gives  the  fol- 
lowing account  of  an  eclipse  of  the  moon,  which,  according  to 
the  calculations  of  eminent  mathematicians,  happened  on  the 
27th  of  September  in  the  year  14  of  the  Christian  era,  about 
five  weeks  after  the  death  of  Augustus  :  § 

"  The  moon,  in  the  midst  of  a  clear  sky,  became  suddenly  eclipsed. 
The  soldiers,  who  were  ignorant  of  the  cause,  took  this  for  an  omen 
referring  to  their  present  adventures.  To  their  own  labours  they  com- 
pared the  eclipse  of  the  planet,  and  prophesied  that  '  if  to  the  dis- 
tressed goddess  should  be  restored  her  wonted  brightness  and  splen- 
dour, equally  successful  would  be  the  issue  of  these  their  struggles.' 
Hence  they  made  a  loud  noise  by  ringing  upon  brazen  metal,  and  by 
blowing  trumpets  and  cornets.  As  she  appeared  brighter  or  darker, 
they  exalted  or  lamented.  But  when  gathering  clouds  had  obstructed 
their  sight,  and  it  was  believed  that  she  was  now  buried  in  darkness, 
then  (for  minds  once  dismayed  are  prone  to  superstition)  they  be- 
wailed '  their  own  eternal  sufferings  thus  portended,  and  that  the 
gods  viewed  their  daring  deeds  with  aversion.' "  || 

*  Annals,  b.  xiv. ,  c.  22.  t  Ib.,  b.  xv.,  c.  47.  J  B.  xxvi.,  c.  5. 

§  Note  to  Bohn's  Tacitus,  vol.  i.,  p.  21.  ||  Annals,  b.  i.,  c.  28. 


384      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

It  was  considered  an  ill  omen  when  Mount  Etna,  in  Sicily, 
emitted  not  only  smoke  but  balls  of  fire  ;  and  Livy  says  that 
extensive  flames  issued  from  it  before  the  death  of  Caesar.* 

Occasionally  divinations  were  performed  by  water.  Some- 
times they  dipped  a  looking-glass  into  the  water  when  they 
desired  to  know  what  would  become  of  a  sick  person  ;  for  as 
he  looked  well  or  ill  in  the  glass,  accordingly  they  presumed 
of  his  future  condition.  Another  custom  resorted  to  was  fill- 
ing a  bowl  with  water,  and  letting  it  down  into  a  ring  equally 
poised  on  each  side,  and  hanging  by  a  thread  tied  to  one  of 
their  finders,  when,  in  a  form  of  prayer,  they  requested  the 
gods  to  declare  or  confirm  the  dispute  in  question  ;  where- 
upon, if  the  thing  proposed  was  true,  the  ring,  of  its  own 
accord,  would  strike  against  the  bowl  a  set  number  of  times. 
On  some  occasions  they  threw  stones  into  the  water  and  ob- 
served the  turns  they  made  in  sinking.-^ 

Prodigies  of  various  kinds  are  reported  as  having  been  wit- 
nessed in  Rome,  and  the  pages  of  Livy  are  filled  with  de- 
scriptions of  these  extraordinary  events.  An  ox  was  said  to 
have  spoken  several  times,  which  caused  great  consternation, 
and  upon  which  various  interpretations  were  put ;  although 
the  poor  beast  himself  does  not  appear  to  have  turned  to  any 
very  great  account  his  newly-acquired  capacity  of  talking. 
Pliny  records  that  on  one  occasion,  when  a  report  was  brought 
that  an  ox  had  spoken,  the  senate  was  held  under  the  open 
air.  Showers  of  stones  are  frequently  reported  by  Livy,  and 
certain  mysterious  sounds,  as  also  appearances  in  the  air, 
which  are  now  accounted  for  by  electrical  and  other  natural 
causes.  The  priests,  however,  with  surprising  dexterity, 
appear  to  have  turned  all  these  occurrences  to  very  good 
account  as  regarded  themselves  ;  and  expiations  were  ordered 
by  them  to  do  away  with  any  evil  consequences  that  might 
result.  Monstrous  births  by  any  animal  were  always  reckoned 
among  the  prodigies  of  the  day,  and  peculiar  importance  was 

*  Note  to  Devitte's  Livy,  vol.  iv.,  p.  2220. 
t  Potter's  Grecian  Antiquities,  p.  407. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  385 

attached  to  the  event.    Tacitus,  in  his  Annals,  refers  frequently 
to  the  occurrence  of  prodigies  of  various  kinds. 

Persons  whose  minds  were  disordered  appear  to  have  been 
considered  in  the  ancient  times  as  capable  of  foretelling 
future  events.*  In  these  days  we  should  be  inclined  to 
attribute  disorder  of  mind  to  those  who  believed  in  such 
absurdities. 

The  profession  of  an  augur  or  soothsayer  is  supposed  to  be 
very  ancient,  and  indeed  the  practice  of  the  art  was  forbidden 
by  Moses.-f  It  was  in  high  favour  among  the  Chaldeans, 
who  made  a  particular  profession  of  it.  The  Greeks  appear 
to  have  learnt  it  from  them,  and  it  was  afterwards  followed 
by  the  Tuscans.  |  Herodotus  records  that  "  soothsayers 
among  the  Scythians  are  numerous,  who  divine,  by  the  help 
of  a  number  of  willow  rods,  in  the  following  manner  :  When 
they  have  brought  with  them  large  numbers  of  twigs,  they 
lay  them  on  the  ground  and  untie  them  ;  and  having  placed 
each  rod  apart,  they  utter  their  predictions  ;  and  whilst 
they  are  pronouncing  them,  they  gather  up  the  rods  again 
and  put  them  together  one  by  one.  This  is  their  national 
mode  of  divination.  But  the  Enarees  or  Androgyni  say  that 
Venus  gave  them  the  power  of  divining.  They  divine  by 
means  of  the  bark  of  a  linden  tree.  When  a  man  has  split 
the  linden  tree  in  three  pieces,  twisting  it  round  his  own 
fingers,  and  then  untwisting  it,  he  utters  a  response.  When 
the  king  of  the  Scythians  is  sick,  he  sends  for  three  of  the 
most  famous  of  these  prophets,  who  prophesy  in  the  manner 
above  mentioned. "§ 

The  Romans  attached  so  much  importance  to  the  practice 
of  augury,  that  by  a  decree  of  the  senate  it  was  expressly 
ordered  that  the  advice  of  the  augur  should  be  exactly 
followed  without  the  least  deviation  from  it,  as  we  learn 
from  Cicero.  ||  Romulus  did  not  presume  to  commence  the 

*  Adam's  Roman  Antiquities,  278. 
•f"  Lev.  xvii. ;  Deut.  xviii. 

J  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities,  tit.  "Augur." 
§  Melpomene,  iv.  67,  68.  ||  De  Leg.  Aug.  Per.,  lib.  ii. 

2  B 


386      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

building  of  Rome  until  he  had  consulted  the  augurs,  and  he 
afterwards  constituted  a  college  of  them.* 

But  the  most  popular  mode  of  divination  in  ancient  times 
was  by  consulting  the  oracles,  which  were  so  revered  that 
nothing  of  importance,  whether  in  public  or  private  life,  was 
undertaken  without  resorting  to  them.  The  oracle  of  Jupiter 
and  Dodona  was  the  most  ancient  in  Greece.  Three  priest- 
esses in  this  temple  were  the  authorised  expounders  of 
the  divine  will,  which  they  sometimes  sought  in  the  neigh- 
bouring forest,  at  the  foot  of  the  prophetic  oak ;  and  they 
appear  to  have  divined  from  the  murmuring  or  roaring  of  its 
branches,  as  though  the  tree  itself  could  speak,  according  as 
the  wind  was  gentle  or  boisterous.  Sometimes  they  pro- 
phesied from  a  bubbling  spring,  at  others  from  the  noises 
made  by  the  brazen  kettles  suspended  round  the  temple.-f- 

The  celebrated  oracle  of  Apollo  at  Delphi  was  located  in  a 
cave,  from  whence  exhalations  were  said  to  arise  that  threw 
whoever  stood  near  it  into  a  perfect  frenzy ;  and  during  the 
continuance  of  the  fit  communicated  the  power  of  predicting 
the  future.  A  magnificent  temple  was  erected  on  the  spot, 
to  which  a  whole  army  of  ministers  and  domestics  were 
attached.  A  tripos  was  placed  over  the  mouth  of  the  cave  ; 
and  upon  it  the  Pythia,  a  priestess  of  Apollo,  received  her 
inspiration.  Before  she  sat  on  the  tripos,  she  washed  herself 
in  the  Castalian  fountain  which  bubbled  from  the  foot  of 
Parnassus,  and  assumed  a  laurel  crown.  In  a  short  time  she 
began  to  foam,  her  countenance  was  much  distorted,  and  the 
wildest  expressions  issued  from  her  mouth,  which  were  put 
into  Greek  verse.  J 

The  famous  cave  of  the  Sybil  described  by  Virgil,  which  is 
near  Baiae,  on  the  coast  of  Italy,  the  gloomy  recesses  of 
which  I  some  time  ago  explored,  was  an  oracle  of  this 
description.  It  consists  of  a  long  winding  passage,  leading  to 
the  heart  of  a  mountain  ;  but  I  need  not  say  that  I  saw  and 
heard  nothing  of  the  Sybil  herself,  who  has  long  ceased  to  be 

*  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities,  tit.  "Augur." 

t  Arts  of  Greeks  and  Romans,  vol.  ii.,  261.  J  Ib,,  262. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  387 

tenant  of  the  premises.  Several  of  the  rocks  in  that  neigh- 
bourhood are  volcanic,  and  occasionally  emit  flames,  which 
no  doubt  afforded  a  confirmation  of  the  superstitions  relating 
to  the  supernatural  rites  formerly  practised  there. 

Conjectures  have  been  raised  as  to  why  women  instead  ot 
men  were  employed  in  practising  these  impostures  on  their 
fellow-creatures.  Some  have  supposed  the  reason  to  be  that 
women  were  more  easily  made  the  dupes  of  superstition  than 
were  the  hardier  sex.  Tacitus  attributes  something  like 
gallantry  to  the  Germans,  when  he  says  of  them  that  they 
consider  "  there  is  something  of  a  divine  nature  in  women, 
and  the  power  of  seeing  into  the  future.  Nor  do  they  reject 
their  advice  or  disregard  their  answers."  * 

The  influence  of  the  female  sex  has  been  extensive  in  all 
ages,  and  in  all  countries,  even  among  the  most  barbarous  ; 
far  greater,  I  believe,  than  has  been  actually  supposed.  Nor  is 
it  the  less  extensive  because,  like  the  mighty  operations  of 
nature,  it  works  silently  (not  always  the  mode  of  ladies'  pro- 
ceeding) and  unseen.  Perhaps  it  is  the  most  potent  when  it 
is  the  less  openly  felt.  Great  as  it  is  in  modern  times,  it  was 
perhaps  greater  still  in  the  days  of  which  I  have  been 
speaking.  The  power  which  women  gain  by  having  the 
care  of  the  young  entrusted  to  them,  alone  affords  them  a 
moral  influence  the  most  extensive  of  all ;  far  greater  than 
what  they  could  ever  obtain  by  becoming  lawyers,  doctors,  or 
even  legislators.  Their  proper  sway  appears  to  me  to  be  the 
domestic,  not  the  political  circle  ;  their  own  houses,  not  the 
House  of  Commons.  The  attention  of  Tacitus  to  this 
interesting  topic  will,  I  hope,  be  allowed  as  an  apology  for 
this  brief  digression. 

Severe  punishment  was  decreed  by  the  Roman  laws 
against  priestesses  and  vestal  nuns  who  were  guilty  of  incon- 
tinence. In  the  field  of  execution,  called  the  Campus  Sceler- 
atus,  or  wicked  field,  which  lay  within  the  city,  a  vault  was 
made  under  the  earth,  with  a  hole  left  open  above  to  enable 
any  one  to  enter.  In  this  vault  there  was  a  little  couch, 

*  Germ.,  c.  8. 


388      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

with  a  burning  lamp  and  some  refreshment.  To  this  place 
the  condemned  criminal  was  to  be  brought  through  the 
market-place ;  but  it  was  so  closed  up  with  thick  leather,  that 
her  lamentations  could  not  be  heard  so  as  to  excite  the  pity 
of  the  spectators.  When  brought  to  the  place  of  execution, 
she  was  let  down  by  a  ladder  into  the  cave,  the  opening  of 
which  was  bricked  up,  and  she  was  there  left  to  die.* 

Closely  connected  with,  and  forcibly  illustrative  of  the 
manners  and  customs,  and  the  rites  and  superstitions,  of  ancient 
days,  are  the  modes  of  punishing  criminals  then  resorted  to. 
Into  the  general  question  of  the  laws  of  the  people  of  ancient 
times,  I  have  not  attempted  to  enter,  as  being  in  the  first  place 
not  within  the  scope  of  the  subject  on  which  I  am  now  treat- 
ing ;  and,  in  the  next  place,  being  far  too  comprehensive,  not  to 
say  much  too  complicated  also,  to  admit  of  its  being  embraced 
by  the  present  series  of  papers.  I  will,  however,  venture  to 
conclude  this  branch  of  the  subject  with  a  few  words  as  to 
the  origin  and  nature  of  civil  punishments  generally,  among 
the  ancient  nations  : 

"  That  particular  punishments  were  often  adopted  in  the  earlier 
ages  of  society  on  account  of  the  means  ready  at  hand  for  inflicting 
them,  will  be  obvious  to  every  reader  of  history.  The  Asiatic 
punishment  of  throwing  criminals  to  wild  beasts,  originated  in  the 
abundance  of  those  animals  in  that  part  of  the  world.  The  Tarpeian 
rock  afforded  to  the  Romans  a  ready  means  of  capital  punishment 
by  hurling  criminals  from  that  height.  The  proximity  of  seas  and 
large  rivers  induced  particular  people  to  have  recourse  to  drowning 
as  a  capital  punishment.  And  it  was  during  their  sojourn  in  the 
stony  desert,  that  the  children  of  Israel  first  resorted  to  stoning  as 
the  means  of  putting  malefactors  to  death,  and  which  they  continued 
long  after  they  left  the  wilderness."  t 

Among  the  ancient  Egyptians,  strangling  was  resorted  to  as 
a  capital  punishment.  An  Egyptian  painting,  copied  by 
Belzoni,  represents  an  execution  in  an  Egyptian  prison  by  this 

*  Bishop  Godwin's  Roman  Antiquities,  lib.  i.,  sec.  i.,  cap.  16,  pp.  13,  14. 
t  Civilisation,  considered  as  a  Science,  in  relation  to  its  Essence,  its  Elements, 
and  its  Ends.     By  George  Harris,  F.  S.  A.  (Bonn's  Library  edition),  pp.  263,  264. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  389 

mode.  The  executioner  first  strikes  his  victim  on  the  head 
so  as  to  stun  him,  and  then  twists  the  bow-string  round  his 
neck.  Death  by  strangling  within  the  walls  of  a  prison  is 
therefore  one  of  the  most  ancient  modes  of  capital  punish- 
ment, as  well  as  that  at  present  in  use  in  this  country.  Pro- 
bably the  picture  referred  to  is  the  oldest  representation  of  an 
execution  extant. 

Putting  out  the  eyes  was  a  punishment  among  the  Egyp- 
tians, which,  according  to  Herodotus,  was  done  with  a  red-hot 
iron. 

A  picture,  representing  the  interior  of  an  ancient  Roman 
prison,  exhibits  the  various  modes  in  which  criminals  were 
dealt  with  in  days  of  yore.  Some  are  placed  in  a  kind  of 
pillory,  their  bodies  beneath  the  floor,  their  heads  just  appear- 
ing above  it.  Others  are  heavily  manacled,  and  some  have 
their  feet  fastened  in  the  stocks.  A  female  is  suspended  from 
the  roof  with  a  weight  to  her  legs,  which  was  a  punishment  in 
use  during  the  Middle  Ages. 

Last  in  the  order  of  succession,  in  accordance  alike  with  the 
course  of  nature,  and  with  the  career  of  our  own  destiny,  we 
come  to  the  consideration  of  that  solemn  subject,  closely  con- 
nected with  that  which  has  immediately  preceded  it,  the  rites 
which  were  paid  by  the  early  people  of  the  world  to  the  relics 
of  the  dead,  and  the  various  modes  in  which  they  disposed  of 
the  remains  of  those  recently  departed  from  the  ranks  of  the 
living. 

This  you  may  probably  deem  a  somewhat  dismal  subject, 
and  one  which  it  will  be  difficult  to  treat  in  a  manner  other- 
wise than  dismal.  It  is  however,  to  a  certain  extent,  relieved 
of  its  doleful  character,  by  the  quaint  and  grotesque  customs 
which  were  occasionally  associated  with  it,  the  ludicrous  nature 
of  some  of  which  appears  to  be  heightened  by  their  very  con- 
trast with  the  solemnity  of  the  proceedings  with  which  they 
are  connected. 

Of  the  various  features  assumed  by  those  superstitions  which 
we  have  been  considering,  those  displayed  in  the  celebration 
of  the  obsequies  deemed  due  to  the  dead — which  seem,  more- 


390      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

over,  to  reflect  the  notions  prevalent  at  those  periods  respect- 
ing that  mysterious  and  uncertain  future  state,  upon  which  the 
subjects  of  them  have  already  entered,  and  to  which  those 
engaged  in  the  ceremonial  itself  are  alike  rapidly  hastening — 
are  unquestionably  among  the  most  interesting,  and  which, 
moreover,  peculiarly  exhibit  the  character  and  tone  of  thought 
and  feeling  which  animated  those  who  directed  these  solem- 
nities. 

The  most  striking  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  world  is 
doubtless  that  which  affords  us  a  description  of  the  supersti- 
tions, so  varied  and  so  strange,  by  which  mankind  have  at 
different  periods  been  overawed.  The  lines  are  deep,  and  the 
shadows  are  dark,  by  which  the  picture  has  to  be  traced.  The 
scene  is  startling  and  even  appalling,  but  a  deeply  instructive 
lesson  may  be  gathered  from  its  teaching.  We,  in  this  boasted 
age  of  civilisation  and  enlightenment,  look  with  pity,  and  per- 
haps contempt,  through  the  telescope  of  time,  to  the  scenes 
alluded  to  ;  and  while  taking  a  survey  of  that  dreary  period, 
are  apt  to  flatter  ourselves  that  these  dismal  clouds  of  super- 
stition and  error,  which  in  that  age  darkened  the  land,  have  for 
ever  and  entirely  been  dispersed,  and  that  we  live  in  times 
wholly  free  from  all  such  debasing  influences.  It  must,  how- 
ever, be  admitted  that,  in  all  ages,  and  in  all  countries,  human 
nature  is  ever  the  same,  and  a  love  for  the  marvellous,  and  a 
hankering  after  superstition,  always  have  been,  and  always  will 
be,  a  ruling  passion.  It  may  exhibit  itself  in  different  ways,  and 
in  various  aspects,  but  the  demon  itself  will  ever  be  found 
lurking  near  us.  Silent  and  unseen  is  its  influence,  but  that 
influence  is  nevertheless  potent,  and  indeed  irresistible.  Pos- 
sibly there  is  not  a  nation,  not  an  age,  not  an  individual,  even 
in  the  present  day,  that  is  wholly  free  from  its  thralls.  Dreams, 
omens,  charms,  spectres,  still  continue  to  haunt  us  ;  and  the 
superstitions  attached  to  particular  days — the  ill-fate  attributed 
to  Friday  for  instance — are  as  vigorous  and  as  active  as  ever. 
Half  angel  and  half  demon,  half  savage  and  half  celestial,  the 
genius  of  superstition,  from  the  earliest  ages  of  society  to  the 
present  time,  has  stalked  through  the  land,  and  exercised  its 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  391 

spell  ;  and  to  the  latest  period  in  the  world's  history  it  will 
maintain  its  power.  We  may  affect  to  despise  it,  but  we 
nevertheless  dread  it.  However  we  may  protest  against,  and 
even  pretend  to  ridicule  its  authority,  we  are  not  the  less  its 
slaves. 

Remarkable  it  is,  from  whatever  cause,  that  people  of  all 
ages  and  all  countries  alike,  have  ever  united  in  doing  homage 
to  the  dead,  and  in  paying  reverence  to  those  forms  which, 
while  animated,  they  treated  with  unrestricted  familiarity. 
Hallowed  rites,  widely  varying  in  their  mode  of  celebration, 
have  always  accompanied  the  consignment  of  the  cold  and  un- 
conscious corpse  to  the  tomb.  Very  different,  corresponding 
with  the  character  of  the  performers,  have  been  the  devices 
for  giving  vent  to  and  for  typifying  that  poignant  grief  and 
that  intense  feeling  of  desolation  which  the  occasion  calls 
forth  in  the  minds  of  all  alike. 

With  reverence  and  with  awe  should  we  enter  the  confines 
of  these  gloomy  and  desolate  regions,  consecrated  by  the 
sorrows  of  all  people  of  all  times,  while  in  the  contemplation 
of  the  subject  itself,  the  solemnity  of  its  nature  commands  our 
reverence,  and  its  immediate  relation  to  our  own  destiny 
ensures  our  deep  interest. 

Various  conjectures  have  been  raised  as  to  what  was  the 
earliest  method  of  disposing  of  the  bodies  of  the  dead.  Two 
modes  appear  to  have  been  adopted  for  this  purpose — de- 
positing the  remains  in  the  ground,  and  consuming  them  by 
fire.  Burying  them  in  the  earth  is  the  oldest  mode,  and  that 
which  has  been  most  commonly  adopted. 

It  appears  probable  that  simple  interment  in  the  earth, 
which  most  readily  in  each  case  suggested  itself,  and  which 
might  in  all  cases  be  availed  of,  whatever  was  the  nature  of 
the  country,  was  that  which  was  the  earliest  in  use.  It  would 
be  only  in  rocky  or  mountainous  countries,  that  caves  could 
be  resorted  to  for  this  purpose.  We  read,  however,  very  early 
in  the  Sacred  Scriptures  of  a  cave  being  used  for  and  con- 
verted into  a  sepulchre,  as  in  the  case  of  Abraham  already 
referred  to,  who  purchased  the  cave  of  Machpelah  for  this 


392      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

purpose.  It  has  been  suggested,  however,  that  Abraham 
derived  this  fashion  from  the  Egyptians,  the  people  of  Upper 
Egypt  and  Ethiopia  being  the  first  civilised  nation  known,  and 
who  were  the  ancestors  of  the  Pelasgi  of  Etruria  and  other 
countries.*  In  many  respects,  caves  appear  peculiarly  suit- 
able for  sepulchral  objects,  as  not  only  serving,  to  use 
Abraham's  expression,  "  to  bury  the  dead  out  of  sight,"  but 
to  secure  their  remains  from  molestation  ;  while  the  gloomy 
solemn  character  of  those  receptacles  accorded  well  with  the 
object  to  which  they  were  appropriated.  It  is  probably,  how- 
ever, only  in  the  case  of  persons  of  great  wealth,  like 
Abraham,  that  those  places  would  be  resorted  to ;  while  the 
ground  would  still  be  used  for  all  ordinary  burials,  a  simple 
mound  marking  the  spot  beneath  which  the  body  lay,  and 
which  would  be  naturally  caused  by  the  superfluity  of  earth 
occasioned  through  the  space  occupied  by  the  body  in  the 
ground.  Convenience,  and  the  desire  to  preserve  undisturbed 
the  remains  of  those  who  had  been  buried,  would  soon  lead  to 
the  appropriation  of  particular  spots  of  ground  for  the  pur- 
pose of  interment;  while  the  caves  would  in  all  likelihood  be 
reserved  by  the  owners  of  them  as  places  of  burial  for  the 
members  of  their  own  family. 

Solemn  and  imposing,  if  not  actually  picturesque,  must 
have  been  the  performance  of  funeral  obsequies  at  this  early 
period,  though  wanting  in  gorgeous  accoutrements  for  later 
times. 

Among  the  Jews,  burial  appears  to  have  been  the  custom 
adopted  with  regard  to  the  dead,  and  this  was  continued  to 
a  late  period,  as  we  find  to  have  been  done  in  the  case  of 
Lazarus.  Coffins,  or  boxes  to  hold  dead  bodies,  were  not, 
however,  usual  among  the  Jews,  but  the  body  was  simply 
wrapped  in  a  cloth,  and  carried  upon  a  bier.*f  Even  in  this 
country  some  two  hundred  years  ago,  and  probably  later, 
coffins  were  by  no  means  universally  used. 

With  the  Jews,  the  bodies  of  great  people  were  embalmed, 

*  Arts  of  Greeks  and  Romans,  284. 

t  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Jews,  pp.  175,  176. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  393 

or  wrapped  up  with  gums  and  spices  before  they  were 
interred.  We  read  in  Genesis  of  the  embalming  of  Jacob, 
and  Joseph  of  Arimathea  brought  spices  and  wrapped  in 
linen  cloths  the  body  of  our  Lord.* 

In  the  descriptions  of  the  funerals  of  Jewish  kings,  recorded 
in  the  Bible,  we  sometimes  read  of  burning  the  bodies,  though 
this  was  not  the  usual  practice.  Thus,  the  bodies  of  Saul  and 
his  sons  were  burnt ;  and  this  appears  to  have  been  re- 
sorted to  in  times  of  pestilence.^  It  is  also  recorded  that  at 
the  death  of  Jehoram  the  people  made  no  burning  for  him.| 

When  bodies  were  interred  in  the  open  plains,  heaps  of 
earth  or  of  stones  were  placed  over  them,  both  to  mark  the 
spot  where  they  were  laid,  and  also  to  protect  them  from 
being  disturbed  by  wild  beasts.  In  course  of  time  these 
erections  were  adopted  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  the 
deceased. 

Probably  the  earliest  coffins  consisted  in  the  receptacles 
scooped  out  in  the  side  of  the  cave  in  which  the  body  was  to 
be  deposited,  as  we  may  still  observe  in  the  ancient  catacombs 
at  Rome  and  elsewhere.  Possibly  the  stone  coffin  was  an  imi- 
tation of  these  rocky  receptacles,  or  an  effort  to  supply  their 
place.  As  stone  was  not  always  to  be  had,  wood,  or  metal,  or 
earthenware,  would  in  many  cases  be  used  as  a  substitute. 

As  caves,  for  the  reasons  probably  which  I  have  stated, 
became  the  favourite,  not  to  say  fashionable,  burying-places 
for  the  rich  in  the  early  times  ;  in  those  parts  of  the  country 
where  caves  were  not  to  be  found,  sepulchres  were  erected  in 
imitation  of  caves,  of  which  are  many  of  the  vast  Egyptian 
and  Indian  caves  remaining  to  this  day. 

Burning  the  dead  does  not  appear  to  have  been  ever 
resorted  to  by  the  Egyptians.  The  Pyramids  of  Egypt  are 
supposed  to  have  been  vast  tombs  for  the  reception  of  the 
bodies  of  the  dead.  And  notwithstanding  the  various  con- 
flicting conjectures  of  modern  travellers  and  historians,  the 
diligent  researches  of  Denon  and  Belzoni  have  confirmed 

*  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Jews,  p.  175. 

t  Amos  vi.  10.  I  2  Chron.  xxi.  19. 


394     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

the  accounts  left  us  by  Herodotus,  of  their  being  exclusively 
appropriated  to  the  inhumation  of  one  royal  corpse.  They 
are  found  to  be  composed  of  immense  blocks  of  stone,  heaped 
together  in  a  regularly  mathematical  form,  diminishing  from 
a  broad  quadrangular  base  to  a  narrow  apex.*  The  largest 
pyramid,  according  to  Belzoni,  measures  at  the  base  693 
square  feet,  with  a  perpendicular  height  of  498.^ 

Herodotus  gives  the  following  extraordinary  and  interest- 
ing account  of  the  building  of  this  stupendous  structure  by 
Cheops : 

"  Having  shut  up  all  the  temples,  he  first  of  all  forbade  them  to 

offer  sacrifice,  and  afterwards  he  ordered  all  the  Egyptians  to  work 

for  himself;  some  accordingly  were  appointed  to  draw  stones  from 

the  quarries  in  the  Arabian  mountains  down  to  the  Nile,  others  he 

ordered  to  receive  the  stones  when  transported  in  vessels  across  the 

river,  and  to  drag  them  to  the  mountain  called  the  Libyan.     And 

they  worked  to  the  number  of  a  hundred  thousand  men  at  a  time, 

each  party  during  three  months.     The  time  during  which  the  people 

were  thus  harassed  by  toil  lasted  ten  years,  on  the  road  which  they 

constructed,  along  which  they  drew  the  stones,  a  work  in  my  opinion 

not  much  less  than  the  pyramid.     .     .     .     On  this  road  ten  years 

were  expended,  and  in  forming  the  subterraneous  apartments  on  the 

hill,  on  which  the  pyramids  stand,  which  he  had  made  as  a  burial 

vault  for  himself,  in  an  island,  formed  by  draining  a  canal  from  the 

Nile.     Twenty  years  were  spent  in  erecting  the  pyramid  itself;  of 

this,  which  is  square,  each  face  is  eight  plethra,  and  the  height  is  the 

same.     It  is  composed  of  polished  stones,  and  jointed  with  the 

greatest  exactness.     None  of  the  stones  are  less  than  thirty  feet. 

This  pyramid  was  built  thus,  in  the  form  of  steps,  which  some  called 

crosses,    others    bomides.      When    they   had    first    built   it  in   this 

manner,  they  raised  the  remaining  stones  by  machines  made  of  short 

pieces  of  wood.     Having  lifted  them  from  the  ground  to  the  first 

range  of  steps,  when  the  stone  arrived  there,  it  was  put  on  another 

machine  that  stood  ready  on  the  first  range,  and  from  this  it  was 

drawn  to  the  second  range  on  another  machine,  for  the  machines 

were  equal  in  number  to  the  ranges  of  steps  ;  or  they  removed  the 

machine,  which  was  only  one,  and  portable,  to  each  range'  in  succes- 

*  History  and  Analysis  of  Architecture,  21.  f  7<J.,  21. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  395 

sion,  whenever  they  wished  to  raise  the  stone  higher,  for  I  should  relate 
it  in  both  ways  as  it  is  related.  The  highest  parts  of  it,  therefore,  were 
first  finished,  and  afterwards  they  completed  the  parts  next  following  ; 
but  last  of  all,  they  finished  the  parts  on  the  ground,  and  that  were 
lowest.  On  the  pyramid  is  shown  an  inscription  in  Egyptian  charac- 
ters how  much  was  expended  in  radishes,  onions,  and  garlic  for  the 
workmen,  which  the  interpreter,  as  I  well  remember,  reading  the 
inscription,  told  me  amounted  to  1600  talents  of  silver.  And  if  this 
be  really  the  case,  how  much  more  was  probably  expended  in  iron 
tools,  in  bread,  and  in  clothes  for  the  labourers,  since  they  occupied 
in  building  the  works  the  time  which  I  mentioned,  and  no  short  time 
besides,  as  I  think,  in  cutting  and  drawing  the  stones,  and  in  forming 
the  subterraneous  excavation  ?  "  * 

The  tombs  at  Thebes  consist  of  chambers  and  passages 
excavated  in  the  side  of  a  mountain,  thus  imitating  those 
natural  sepulchres,  caverns.  They  are  covered  with  sculptures 
and  paintings  of  such  resplendent  tints  that  they  almost  defy 
imitation.  These  paintings  serve  very  correctly  to  exhibit 
the  condition  of  civilisation  of  the  country  at  that  particular 
time,  and  represent  the  modes  of  manufacture,  agriculture, 
navigation,  pottery  work,  machinery,  and  processes  of  trade, 
rural  employments,  hunting,  fishing,  marches  of  troops,  pun- 
ishments in  use,  musical  instruments,  dresses  and  furniture.^ 

Some  of  the  Egyptian  tombs  also  consist  of  artificial 
excavations  in  the  sides  of  hills,  others  are  formed  out  of 
subterranean  passages,  another  mode  of  imitating  caves.  J 

The  most  ancient  kind  of  sepulchre  in  Asia  and  Greece, 
was  the  barrow  or  tumulus  ;  that  is,  a  heap  of  earth,  with  a 
memorial  stone,  sometimes  an  altar,  at  the  top  ;  sometimes 
chambers  with  galleries  within  them,  and  a  defensive  wall 
around  the  base.§ 

Herodotus  gives  the  following  extraordinary  account  of 
the  mode  of  burial  among  the  ancient  Persians  : 

"  What  follows,  relating  to  the  dead,  is  only  secretly  mentioned, 

*  Euterpe,  ii,  124,  125.  t  Arts  of  Greeks  and  Romans,  284. 

£  fb.,  vol.  i..  92.  §  Ib.,  92. 


396      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

and  not  openly,  viz.,  that  the  dead  body  of  a  Persian  is  never  buried 
until  it  has  been  torn  by  some  bird  or  dog ;  but  I  know  for  a 
certainty  that  the  magi  do  this,  for  they  do  it  openly.  The  Persians 
then,  having  covered  the  body  with  wax,  conceal  it  in  the  ground."  * 

But  his  description  of  a  royal  funeral  among  the  Scythians 
is  more  extraordinary  still.  He  says  that — 

"  When  their  king  dies,  they  dig  a  large  square  hole  in  the  ground, 
and  having  prepared  this,  they  take  up  the  corpse,  having  the  body 
covered  with  wax,  the  stomach  opened  and  cleaned,  filled  with 
bruised  cypress,  incense,  parsley,  and  anise  seed ;  and  then  having 
sewn  it  up  again,  they  carry  it  in  a  chariot  to  another  nation.  Those 
who  receive  the  corpse  brought  to  them,  do  the  same  as  the  royal 
Scythians  ;  they  cut  off  part  of  their  ear,  shave  off  their  hair,  wound 
themselves  on  the  arms,  lacerate  their  forehead  and  nose,  and  drive 
arrows  through  their  left  hand.  Thence  they  carry  the  corpse  of  the 
king  to  another  nation  whom  they  govern  ;  and  those  to  whom  they 
first  came  accompany  them.  When  they  have  carried  the  corpse 
round  all  the  provinces,  they  arrive  among  the  Gerrhi,  who  are  the 
most  remote  of  the  nations  they  rule  over,  and  at  the  sepulchres. 
Then,  when  they  have  placed  the  corpse  in  the  grave  on  a  bed  of 
leaves,  having  fixed  spears  on  each  side  of  the  dead  body,  they  lay 
pieces  of  wood  over  it,  and  cover  it  over  with  mats.  In  the 
remaining  space  of  the  grave,  they  bury  one  of  the  king's  concubines, 
having  strangled  her,  and  his  cup-bearer,  a  cook,  a  groom,  a  page,  a 
courier,  and  horses,  and  firstlings  of  everything  else,  and  golden  goblets. 
They  make  no  use  of  silver  or  brass.  Having  done  this,  they  all 
heap  up  a  large  mound,  striving  and  vicing  with  each  other  to  make 
it  as  large  as  possible. 

"When  a  year  has  elapsed,  they  then  do  as  follows.  Having 
taken  the  most  fitting  of  his  remaining  servants,  they  are  all  native 
Scythians,  serving  whomsoever  the  king  may  order,  and  they 
have  no  servants  bought  with  money.  When  therefore  they  have 
strangled  fifty  of  these  servants,  and  fifty  of  the  finest  horses,  having 
taken  out  their  bowels  and  cleansed  them,  they  fill  them  with  chaff, 
and  sew  them  up  again.  Then  having  placed  the  half  of  a  wheel, 
with  its  concave  side  uppermost,  on  two  pieces  of  wood,  and  the 
other  half  on  two  other  pieces  of  wood,  and  having  fixed  many  of 

*  Clio,  i.  140. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  397 

these  in  the  same  manner,  having  thrust  thick  pieces  of  wood 
through  the  horses  lengthwise,  up  to  the  neck,  they  mount  them  on 
the  half  wheels ;  and  of  these  the  foremost  part  of  the  half  wheels 
supports  the  shoulders  of  the  horses,  and  the  hinder  part  supports  the 
belly  near  the  thighs,  but  the  legs  on  both  sides  are  suspended  in  the 
air.  Then  having  put  bridles  and  bits  on  the  horses,  they  stretch 
them  in  front,  and  fasten  them  to  a  stake.  They  next  mount  upon  a 
horse  each,  one  of  the  fifty  young  men  that  have  been  strangled, 
mounting  them  in  the  following  manner.  When  they  have  driven  a 
straight  piece  of  wood  along  the  spine  as  far  as  the  neck,  but  a  part 
of  this  wood  projects  from  the  bottom,  they  fix  it  into  a  hole  bored 
in  the  other  piece  of  wood  that  passes  through  the  horse.  Having 
placed  such  horsemen  round  the  monument,  they  depart. 

"  Thus  they  bury  their  kings.  But  the  other  Scythians,  when  they 
die,  their  nearest  relations  carry  about  among  their  friends,  laid  in 
chariots  ;  and  of  these  each  one  receives  and  entertains  the  attend- 
ants, and  sets  the  same  things  before  the  dead  body,  as  before  the 
rest.  In  this  manner  private  persons  are  carried  about  for  forty  days, 
and  then  buried.  The  Scythians  having  buried  them,  purify  them- 
selves in  the  following  manner.  Having  wiped  and  thoroughly 
washed  their  heads,  they  do  thus  with  regard  to  the  body ;  when  they 
have  set  up  three  pieces  of  wood  leaning  against  each  other,  they 
extend  around  them  woollen  cloths ;  and  having  joined  them  together 
as  closely  as  possible,  they  throw  red-hot  stones  into  a  vessel  placed 
in  the  middle  of  the  pieces  of  wood  and  the  cloths."* 

A  more  extraordinary  custom,  closely  connected  with  the 
subject  of  funerals,  is  related  by  the  same  distinguished  writer 
as  prevalent  among  the  Messagetae. 

"  When  a  man  has  attained  a  great  age,  all  his  kinsmen  meet,  and 
sacrifice  him,  together  with  cattle  of  several  kinds ;  and  when  they 
have  boiled  the  flesh,  they  feast  on  it  This  death  they  account  the 
most  happy ;  but  they  do  not  eat  the  bodies  of  those  who  die  of 
disease,  but  bury  them  in  the  earth,  and  think  it  a  great  misfortune 
that  they  did  not  reach  the  age  to  be  sacrificed."  t 

Among  the  ancient  Egyptians,  the  opinion  was  entertained 
that  after  the  lapse  of  several  thousand  years,  their  souls  would 
come  to  reinhabit  their  bodies,  if  the  latter  were  preserved 

*  Melpomene,  iv.  71-73.  t  Clio,  i.  216. 


398      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

entire.  Hence  the  origin  of  mummies,  and  the  situation  of 
sepulchres  in  places  not  subject  to  inundation.  Belzoni  was 
of  opinion  that  such  people  as  could  afford  cases,  would  have 
one  to  be  buried  in,  upon  which  the  history  of  their  lives 
was  painted.  Those  who  could  not  afford  a  case,  were  con- 
tented to  have  their  lives  written  on  papyri,  rolled  up  and 
placed  above  their  knees.* 

Herodotus  says  of  the  Babylonians  that  "  they  embalm  the 
dead  in  honey,  and  their  funeral  lamentations  are  like  those 
of  the  Egyptians." -f-  He  gives  a  minute  and  interesting 
account  of  the  mode  in  which  the  Egyptians  practised  this 
art.  He  tells  us — 

"  There  are  persons  appointed  for  this  very  purpose.  They,  when 
the  dead  body  is  brought  to  them,  show  to  the  bearers  wooden 
models  of  corpses,  made  exactly  like  by  painting.  And  they  show 
that  which  they  say  is  the  most  expensive  manner  of  embalming, 
the  name  of  which  I  do  not  think  it  right  to  mention  on  such  an 
occasion.  They  then  show  the  second,  which  is  inferior  and  less 
expensive ;  and  the  third,  which  is  the  cheapest.  Having  explained 
them  all,  they  learn  from  them  in  what  way  they  wish  the  body 
to  be  prepared ;  then  the  relations,  when  they  have  agreed  on  the 
price,  depart ;  but  the  embalmers,  remaining  in  the  workshops,  thus 
proceed  to  embahn  in  the  most  expensive  manner.  First,  they  draw 
out  the  brains  through  the  nostrils  with  an  iron  hook,  taking  part  oi 
it  out  in  this  manner,  the  rest  by  the  infusion  of  drugs.  Then  with 
a  sharp  Ethiopian  stone  they  make  an  incision  in  the  side,  and  take 
out  all  the  bowels ;  and  having  cleansed  the  abdomen,  and  rinsed 
it  with  palm  wine,  they  next  sprinkle  it  with  pounded  perfumes. 
Then  having  filled  the  belly  with  pure  myrrh,  pounded,  and  cassia, 
and  other  perfumes,  frankincense  excepted,  they  sew  it  up  again  ; 
and  when  they  have  done  this,  they  steep  it  in  vetrum,  leaving  it 
under  for  seventy  days ;  for  a  longer  time  than  this  it  is  not  lawful 
to  steep  it.  At  the  expiration  of  the  seventy  days,  they  wash  the 
corpse,  and  wrap  the  whole  body  in  bandages  of  flaxen  cloth,  smear- 
ing it  with  gum,  which  the  Egyptians  commonly  use  instead  of  glue. 
After  this,  the  relations,  having  taken  the  body  back  again,  make  a 

*  Arts  of  Greeks  and  Romans,  vol.  i.,  38.  t  Clio,  i.  198. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  399 

wooden  case  in  the  shape  of  a  man,  and  having  made  it,  they  enclose 
the  body ;  and  thus  having  fastened  it  up,  they  store  it  in  a  sepul- 
chral chamber,  setting  it  upright  against  the  wall.  In  this  manner 
they  prepare  the  bodies  that  are  embalmed  in  the  most  expensive 
way."  * 

He  then  goes  on  to  describe  the  methods  of  embalming 
those  whose  relations  desire  it  to  be  effected  in  a  less  ex- 
pensive manner.  He  concludes  by  stating  that — 

"Should  any  person,  whether  Egyptian  or  stranger,  no  matter 
which,  be  found  to  have  been  seized  by  a  crocodile,  or  drowned  in 
the  river,  to  whatever  city  the  body  may  be  carried,  the  inhabi- 
tants are  by  law  compelled  to  have  the  body  embalmed,  and  having 
adorned  it  in  the  handsomest  manner,  to  bury  it  in  the  sacred  vaults, 
nor  is  it  lawful  for  any  one  else,  whether  relatives  or  friends,  to 
touch  him  ;  but  the  priests  of  the  Nile  bury  the  corpse  with  their  own 
hands,  as  being  something  more  than  human."t 

In  the  museum  at  Berlin  are  preserved  the  hooks  for 
drawing  out  the  brain,  and  other  instruments  used  by  the 
ancient  Egyptians  during  the  process  of  embalming.  Also 
an  ancient  Egyptian  paint-box,  which  was  extensively  used 
in  the  embellishment  of  the  cases  or  coffins  in  which  the  dead 
bodies  were  deposited.  There  is  also  in  the  same  museum 
an  ancient  Egyptian  medicine-chest,  a  somewhat  alarming 
apparatus,  if  the  sick  man  was  seriously  intended  to  swallow 
the  whole  contents  of  those  stupendous  physic  phials.  The 
patient,  one  would  fear,  could  have  but  a  slender  chance  of 
recovery.  The  Egyptian  doctor  must  have  been  as  much 
dreaded  as  the  direst  disease ! 

The  following  account  of  the  mode  of  embalming  the  dead 
in  use  among  the  Ethiopians,  is  also  from  the  pen  of 
Herodotus  : 

"  When  they  have  dried  the  body,  either  as  the  Egyptians  do,  or 
in  some  other  way,  they  plaster  it  all  over  with  gypsum,  and  paint  it, 
making  it  as  much  as  possible  resemble  real  life.  They  then  put 
round  it  a  hollow  column  made  of  crystal,  which  they  dig  up  in 

*  Euterpe,  ii.  86.  f  H>-,  90. 


400      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

abundance,  and  is  easily  wrought.  The  body  being  in  the  middle 
of  the  column  is  plainly  seen,  nor  does  it  emit  an  unpleasant  smell, 
nor  is  it  in  any  way  offensive  :  and  it  is  all  visible  as  the  body  itself. 
The  nearest  relations  keep  the  column  in  their  houses  for  a  year, 
offering  to  it  the  first-fruits  of  all,  and  performing  sacrifices  ;  after 
that  time  they  carry  it  out  and  place  it  somewhere  near  the  city."  * 

In  the  Sacred  Scriptures  we  have  an  account  of  Mary 
Magdalene  anointing  our  Lord's  feet  with  precious  ointment, 
contained  in  a  box  of  alabaster,  which  He  stated  was  done  by 
her  for  His  burial.  Alabaster  vases  of  the  Oriental  kind  are 
found  in  the  Greek  sepulchres,  and  are  presumed  to  have  con- 
tained the  oil  or  perfumes  with  which  the  body  of  the  dead  was 
anointed.  Vases,  cups,  and  bowls,  of  various  forms  and 
dimensions,  generally  painted  black,  were  used  at  the  funeral 
supper,  after  which  they  seem  to  have  been  carelessly  thrown 
into  the  tomb,  as  they  are  often  found  broken.  Some  of  them 
were  carefully  deposited  in  tombs  by  the  side  of  the  deceased, 
as  is  the  case  with  those  in  a  sepulchre  tomb  discovered  at 
Pompeii.  These  vessels  are  of  different  colours,  and  are 
placed  in  various  parts  of  the  tomb,  according  probably  as 
convenient  space  for  them  was  afforded,  one  vessel  being 
deposited  upon  the  breast  of  the  deceased.  The  uses  of  these 
vessels  found  in  tombs  are  mentioned  by  Plutarch,  who,  speak- 
ing of  the  funeral  procession  at  the  anniversary  of  the  victory 
of  Plataea,  in  honour  of  the  slain,  informs  us  that  there  were 
young  men,  carrying  "  vessels  full  of  wine  and  milk  for  the 
libations,  and  cruets  of  oil  and  perfumed  essences,"  and  a  bowl 
of  wine  poured  out.  The  Egyptians  supposed  that  the  dead 
were  troubled  with  constant  thirst;  and  it  is  still  customary 
in  Bceotia  to  place  vessels  full  of  water  in  the  graves  of  the 
deceased/!* 

The  first  thing  that  was  done  on  a  person  dying,  was  to  insert 
a  piece  of  money  in  his  mouth,  as  a  gift  or  fee  to  the  ferryman 
of  Hades.  On  opening  a  grave  in  Cephalonia,  the  coin  was 
discovered  still  sticking  between  the  teeth  of  the  skeleton. 

*  Thalia,  iii.  24.  t  Arts  of  Greeks  and  Romans,  103. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  401 

The  dead  were  provided  with  this  as  soon  as  possible,  it  being 
thought  that  they  would  be  ferried  over  all  the  sooner.* 

It  has  been  asserted  by  a  recent  authority  that  burning  the 
dead  originated  in  fire-worship,  and  that  it  was  only  practised 
when  fire-worship  was  the  religion  of  the  people. "j*  This  state- 
ment, however,  seems  to  be  unsupported. 

Both  burying  and  burning  appear  to  have  been  resorted  to 
by  the  Greeks,  also  by  the  Jews.  In  Sparta  burial  seems  to 
have  been  the  customary  mode.  In  other  parts  of  Greece, 
both  skeletons  and  ashes  have  been  discovered,  also  coffins, 
which  were  sometimes  of  wood,  sometimes  of  baked  clay.  J 
Interment  seems  to  have  been  the  general  mode  among 
the  lower  orders.  The  Athenians,  according  to  the  antiquary 
Rous,  seldom  put  more  than  one  man's  bones  in  the  same  coffin, 
but  the  Megarenses  sometimes  three  or  four.§ 

At  the  present  day  burning  the  dead  is  not  practised  in  any 
country  in  Europe,  but  the  custom  of  burial  is  universal. 
During  the  great  French  Revolution,  some  persons  proposed 
to  revive  the  practice  of  burning  the  dead,  but  the  suggestion 
was  not  adopted.  Special  regulations  were  enacted  by  the 
Greeks  respecting  burial-places  for  the  dead.  One  of 
Solon's  laws  provided  that  no  tomb  was  to  consist  of  more 
work  than  ten  men  could  finish  in  three  days  ;  neither  was  it 
to  be  erected  archwise,  or  adorned  with  statues.  And  another 
law  directed  that  no  grave  should  have  over  it,  or  by  it,  more 
than  a  certain  number  of  pillars  of  three  cubits  high,  a  table 
and  labellum,  which  was  a  little  vessel  to  contain  victuals  for 
the  ghost's  maintenance.  || 

The  primitive  Greeks  were  buried  in  places  prepared  for  that 
purpose  in  their  own  houses ;  and  there  was  a  law  among 
the  Thebans  that  no  person  should  build  a  house  without  pro- 
viding a  repository  for  his  dead.  But  the  general  custom,  in 

*  Becker's  Charicles,  translated  by  Metcalfe,  p.  287. 

t  Mr  A.    Bakewell's  Lecture  on  Cremation  before   the   Royal   Institution, 
January  1875. 

%  Ib.,  pp.  290,  291.  §  Attic  Antiquities,  p.  263. 

||  Potter's  Grecian  Antiquities,  p.  207. 

2  C 


402      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

later  ages  especially,  was  to  bury  the  dead  without  their 
cities,  and  chiefly  by  the  highways.  The  common  graves  of 
primitive  Greece  were  nothing  but  holes  or  caverns  dug  in  the 
earth ;  while  those  of  later  ages  were  more  curiously  wrought. 
They  were  commonly  paved  with  stone,  had  arches  built  over 
them,  and  were  adorned  with  no  less  art  and  care  than  the 
houses  of  the  living,  insomuch  that  mourners  commonly  retired 
into  the  vaults  of  the  dead,  and  there  lamented  over  their 
relations  for  many  days  and  nights  together.* 

Kings  and  great  men  were  anciently  buried  in  mountains, 
or  at  the  feet  of  them,  whence  originated  the  custom  of  raising 
a  mount  upon  the  graves  of  great  persons.  This  consisted 
sometimes  of  stone,  but  the  common  materials  were  nothing 
but  earth.f 

Among  the  Romans  the  places  for  burial  were  either  private 
or  public.  The  private  were  in  fields  or  gardens,  usually  near 
the  highway,  in  order  to  be  conspicuous,  and  to  remind  those 
who  passed  by  of  their  mortality.  Hence  the  frequent  in- 
scriptions, which  are  still  retained  on  many  monuments  of  our 
day,  "  Siste  viator,  aspice  viator  " — stop,  traveller ;  look,  travel- 
ler. The  public  places  for  the  burial  of  great  men  were 
commonly  in  the  Campus  Martius.J 

In  the  gallery  of  inscriptions  in  the  Vatican  at  Rome,  are 
contained  several  Roman  tombstones  and  monuments  of  great 
interest,  on  several  of  which  are  inscriptions  and  devices  de- 
noting the  nature  of  the  calling  followed  by  the  deceased,  and 
affording  some  insight  into  his  character.  Some  bas-reliefs 
represent  a  cutler's  shop  on  one  side,  with  a  customer  bargain- 
ing for  an  article,  and  also  his  workshop  on  the  other. 

The  early  Christians  appear  to  have  adopted  the  Roman 
custom  as  to  places  of  burial  ;  but  they  subsequently  had 
them  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  churches,  and  inside  their 
towns,  whence  the  origin  of  churchyards. 

It  has  been  said  that,  at  a  very  early  period  in  Roman 
history,  it  was  customary,  as  in  Greece,  to  bury  persons  of 

*  Potter's  Grecian  Antiquities,  217-219.  t  /A,  219,  220. 

J  Adam's  Roman  Antiquities,  444. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  403 

distinction  in  their  own  houses.*  Latterly,  however,  neither 
sepulture  nor  the  more  common  obsequies  were  allowed 
within  the  walls  of  the  city,  except  to  the  vestal  virgins,  and 
to  some  families  of  high  distinction. -f1 

At  Athens  there  were  two  common  burying-grounds,  one 
within,  the  other  without  the  walls.  That  within  was  devoted 
to  those  who  died  on  the  field  of  battle  for  the  good  of  the 
state.  Over  their  graves  were  placed  columns,  inscribed  with 
the  names  of  the  places  where  they  fell,  and  their  epitaphs. 
The  Greeks  also  buried  their  dead  in  the  gardens  of  their 
villas ;  and,  in  the  case  of  persons  of  great  consequence, 
sometimes  they  were  interred  within  their  temples.^ 

Dionysius  of  Halicarnassus  observes  that  great  men  had 
often  many  tombs,  though  their  bones  were  only  contained  in 
one.§ 

Burning  the  bodies  of  the  dead  is  said  by  some  authorities 
to  have  originated  in  the  fear  of  their  remains  being  violated 
by  enemies.  ||  Homer  affords  us  the  following  account  of  the 
burning  of  the  body  of  Patroclus  : 

"  Wood  was  collected  for  the  pile,  and  when  ready,  the  procession 
was  headed  by  warriors,  fully  armed,  in  cars,  followed  by  the  infantry. 
The  body  was  carried  on  a  bier,  in  the  middle,  by  companions,  who 
had  cut  off  their  hair,  in  token  of  mourning,  and  laid  it  upon  the 
corpse.  Achilles  followed  next  as  chief  mourner,  stooping  over  the 
body,  and  supporting  the  head  of  it.  When  arrived  at  the  pile,  and 
the  body  deposited  near  it,  Achilles  cut  off  his  hair,  made  an  oration, 
and  put  the  hair  between  the  arms  of  the  corpse.  It  was  then  placed 
upon  the  upper  story  of  the  pile ;  a  large  number  of  sheep  and  oxen 
were  killed,  and  with  their  fat  Achilles  smeared  the  whole  body  of 
Patroclus  from  head  to  foot ;  placed  urns  full  of  oil  and  honey  upon 
its  two  sides ;  killed  four  of  the  best  horses,  two  of  the  best  dogs, 
out  of  the  nine  which  he  kept  to  guard  his  camp,  and  threw  them 
against  the  pile.  Lastly,  to  appease  the  manes  of  his  friend,  he 
sacrificed  twelve  young  Trojans  of  the  best  family.  He  then  set 
fire  to  the  pile,  invoked  his  friend,  and  during  the  conflagration 

*  Sketches  of  Institutions,  etc.,  of  Romans,  p.  398.  t  Ib.,  p.  404. 

£  Arts  of  Greeks  and  Romans,  vol.  i.,  101.  §  Ib.,  106.  ||  Ib.t  289. 


404      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

poured  out  wine  from  a  golden  urn,  upon  the  ground,  still  loudly 
calling  upon  the  soul  of  Patroclus.  In  the  meanwhile,  all  the  chiefs 
having  assembled  around  Agamemnon,  Achilles  requested  them  to 
extinguish  all  vestiges  of  flame  with  wine,  and  to  collect  the  bones  of 
Patroclus  without  mixing  them,  because  their  situation  in  the  midst 
of  the  pile  would  easily  discriminate  them ;  and  to  put  them  into  a 
golden  urn,  with  a  double  envelope  of  fat.  The  urn  was  then  de- 
posited in  the  tent  of  Achilles,  and  covered  with  a  precious  veil,  the 
extent  of  the  barrow  marked  out,  foundations  laid  around  it,  and  the 
earth  thrown  up,  the  whole  barrow  denoting  both  the  site  and  dimen- 
sions of  the  funeral  pile."  * 

The  relics  of  the  body  were  distinguished  from  those  of  the 
beasts  and  men  burned  with  it,  by  placing  the  body  in  the 
middle  of  the  pile,  whereas  the  men  and  beasts  lay  on  the 
sides.  The  bones  and  ashes  thus  collected  were  deposited  in 
urns,  consisting  of  either  wood,  stone,  earth,  silver,  or  gold, 
according  to  the  quality  of  the  deceased.^ 

The  shape  of  these  urns  appears  to  have  varied  a  good 
deal  at  different  periods.  The  Latins  made  them  in  the  form 
of  the  huts  which  they  inhabited.  Several  urns  of  this 
description  are  preserved  in  the  Vatican  at  Rome,  at  the 
bottom  of  which  the  ashes  are  still  lying.  The  form  of  the 
heart  is  said  to  have  been  adopted  in  deciding  on  the  ordinary 
shape  of  the  urn. 

Sometimes  the  bodies  were  burnt  upon  large  biers  of  bronze, 
or  some  other  metal,  large  enough  to  contain  a  sufficient 
amount  of  fuel  for  the  purpose.  One  of  these  biers  is  to  be 
seen  in  the  gallery  of  the  Vatican  at  Rome. 

With  regard  to  the  ceremonies  used  at  funerals  in  the 
ancient  times,  the  following  account  has  been  transmitted  to 
us  by  Herodotus,  of  those  adopted  by  the  Egyptians  : 

"  When  in  a  family  a  man  of  any  consideration  dies,  all  the  females 
of  that  family  besmear  their  heads  and  faces  with  mud,  and  then 
leaving  the  body  in  the  house,  they  wander  about  the  city,  and  beat 
themselves,  having  their  clothes  girt  up,  and  exposing  their  breasts, 

*  Arts  of  Greeks  and  Romans,  vol.  i.,  93,  94. 
t  Potter's  Grecian  Antiquities,  214,  215. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  405 

and  all  their  relations  accompanying  them.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
men  beat  themselves,  being  girt  up  in  like  manner.  When  they  have 
done  this,  they  carry  out  the  body  to  be  embalmed."  * 

A  representation  on  an  Egyptian  coffin  now  in  the  British 
Museum,  exhibits  the  mode  in  which,  among  the  Egyptians 
in  ancient  times,  funerals  were  celebrated.  The  body  is  here 
depicted  as  being  carried  in  a  boat,  drawn  by  black  horses, 
down  the  Nile,  for  the  purpose  probably  of  being  embalmed. 
The  vessels  containing  the  spices  and  other  articles  for  em- 
balming, are  placed  in  the  centre  of  the  boat  beneath  the 
body,  which  reposes  on  a  sort  of  bier ;  and  a  canopy  is  erected 
over  it  to  shelter  it  from  the  sun.  The  mourners  are  seen 
with  their  breasts  bare  and  besmeared  with  clay,  and  beating 
themselves,  exactly  as  described  by  Herodotus. 

The  Babylonians  used  to  bury  their  dead  in  honey,  and 
the  lamentations  at  their  funerals  were  very  like  those  of  the 
Egyptians.  Modern  researches  show  two  modes  of  burial 
to  have  prevailed  in  ancient  Babylonia.  Ordinarily  the  bodies 
seem  to  have  been  compressed  into  urns,  and  baked  or  burned. 
Thousands  of  funeral  urns  are  found  on  the  sites  of  the 
ancient  cities.  Coffins  are  also  found,  though  but  rarely. 
These  are  occasionally  of  wood,  but  in  general  of  the  same 
kind  of  pottery  as  the  urns.  The  coffins  from  Warka  are 
of  green  glazed  pottery,  and  are  shaped  like  a  slipper-bath, 
and  belonged  probably  to  the  Chaldeans  of  the  Parthian 
age.  Funeral  jars,  which  seem  to  have  been  used  for  ordinary 
burial,  are  to  be  found  by  thousands  in  every  Babylonian 
ruin.  Ashes  are  sometimes  found  in  these  jars,  but  it  is  more 
usual  to  meet  with  a  skeleton  compressed  into  a  small  space, 
but  with  the  bones  and  cranium  uncalcined.  Sir  Henry 
Rawlinson  remarks  that  in  all  such  cases  as  have  fallen  under 
his  own  personal  observation,  he  has  found  the  mouth  of  the 
jar  much  too  narrow  to  admit  of  the  possibility  of  the  cranium 
passing  in  or  out ;  so  that  either  the  clay  must  have  been 
moulded  over  the  corpse  and  then  baked,  or  the  neck  of  the 
jar  added  after  the  interment.^ 

*  Euterpe,  ii.  85.  +  Sir  H.  Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol.  i.,  pp.  272-274. 


406      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

From  other  sources  we  learn  that  at  the  time  appointed  for 
the  funeral  to  take  place,  the  judges  and  friends  were  invited, 
and  sat  in  a  certain  place  beyond  the  lake  (supposed  to  be 
that  of  Moeris),  which  the  body  was  to  pass.  The  vessel, 
whose  pilot  was  called  Charon,  being  hauled  up  to  the  shore 
before  the  body  was  suffered  to  embark,  every  one  was  at 
liberty  to  accuse  the  deceased.  If  any  accuser  made  good  his 
charge,  that  the  deceased  had  led  a  bad  life,  the  body  was 
denied  the  customary  burial ;  but  if  the  accuser  charged  the 
deceased  unjustly,  he  incurred  a  severe  punishment.  If  no 
accuser  appeared,  or  the  accusation  could  not  be  supported, 
the  relations  recited  the  praise  of  the  deceased,  and  the 
attendants  joined  their  acclamations  to  this  funeral  oration. 
The  body  was  then  deposited  in  the  family  sepulchre.  Those 
who,  for  their  crimes,  or  for  debt,  were  forbidden  to  be  interred, 
were  deposited  privately  in  their  own  houses.* 

The  following  extraordinary  account  of  the  celebration 
of  funeral  solemnities  among  the  Issedones,  is  afforded  by 
Herodotus  : 

"  When  a  man's  father  dies,  all  his  relations  bring  cattle,  and  then 
having  sacrificed  them,  and  cut  up  the  flesh,  they  cut  up  also  the 
dead  parent  of  their  host,  and  having  mingled  all  the  flesh  together, 
they  spread  out  a  banquet ;  then  having  made  bare  and  cleansed  his 
head,  they  gild  it ;  and  afterwards  they  treat  it  as  a  sacred  image, 
performing  grand  annual  sacrifices  to  it  A  son  does  this  to  his 
father,  as  the  Greeks  celebrate  the  anniversary  of  their  father's 
death."f 

Among  the  Thracians,  Herodotus  records  the  observance  of 
the  following  customs  : 

"  The  relations,  seating  themselves  round  one  that  is  newly  born, 
bewail  him,  deploring  the  many  evils  he  must  needs  fulfil,  since  he 
has  been  born ;  enumerating  the  various  sufferings  incident  to  man- 
kind But  one  that  dies  they  bury  in  the  earth,  making  merry  and 
rejoicing,  recounting  the  many  evils  from  which,  being  released,  he 
is  now  in  perfect  bliss."J 

*  Rees's  Cyclop.,  art.  "Egypt."  +  Melpomene,  iv.  26. 

t  Terpsichore,  v.  4. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  407 

Among  the  Greeks,  when  a  person  died,  those  about  him 
addressed  their  prayers  to  Mercury,  whose  office  it  was  to 
convey  souls  to  the  infernal  regions.  Mothers,  or  the  nearest 
in  kin  or  affection,  kissed  the  dying  with  open  mouths,  as  if 
to  inhale  their  departing  spirits.*  After  death  had  occurred, 
the  eyes  were  closed  by  the  next  of  kin  ;  the  face  was  covered, 
and  the  body,  being  laid  out,  was  consecrated,  anointed, 
and  laid  in  a  square  garment.  The  feet  and  hands  were  tied 
by  bandages,  as  in  the  case  of  Lazarus.  The  Naulon,  or  piece 
of  money  to  pay  Charon's  fare,  was  placed  in  the  mouth  ;  and 
a  cake,  made  of  flour  and  honey,  to  appease  Cerberus.  A 
house  being  polluted  wherein  a  corpse  lay,  as  was  the  case 
also  among  the  Jews,  a  vessel  of  lustral  water  from  another 
dwelling  was  placed  at  the  door  for  visitors  to  sprinkle  them- 
selves with  as  they  went  out.  The  corpse  itself,  which  was 
also  the  custom  among  the  Romans,  was  placed  at  the 
entrance  of  the  house,  with  the  feet  towards  the  door,  decked 
with  garlands,  and  laid  upon  a  couch  or  litter  adorned  with 
them,  and  which  were  made  of  all  sorts  of  herbs  and  flowers, 
and  especially  of  olive.  The  cypress,  we  are  told,  became  a 
funereal  tree,  not  from  its  gloomy  foliage,  but  because  it  never 
grows  up  again  after  it  is  cut  down.  People  of  condition  placed 
boughs  of  it  at  the  door ;  and  we  still  see  on  marbles,  sepul- 
chres with  cypresses  planted  by  them.  Some  hair,  cut  from 
the  head  of  the  deceased,  was  also  hung  at  the  door.  The 
time  for  keeping  the  body  above  ground  varied,  the  poor  being 
buried  soonest.  Persons  were  stationed  to  keep  off  the  flies.-f 

The  Romans  were  in  the  habit  of  ringing  a  bell,  or  making 
a  great  clatter  with  brazen  vessels,  to  notify  when  any  person 
was  about  to  die,  which  is  said  to  have  originated  in  the  notion 
that  the  sound  frightened  away  evil  spirits.  This  was  pro- 
bably the  origin  of  the  passing-bell  in  this  country.^ 

At  the  funeral  the  corpse  was  carried  with  the  feet  fore- 
most on  an  open  bier,  covered  with  the  richest  cloth,  and 

*  Bishop  Godwin's  Roman  Antiquities,  p.  73. 
t  Arts  of  Greeks  and  Romans,  vol.  i.,  95,  96. 
J  Rous's  Archaeologise  Atticae,  p.  241. 


408      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

borne  by  the  nearest  relations  and  most  distinguished  friends. 
A  statue  of  the  deceased  was  carried  before  his  body.* 

The  following  very  extraordinary  custom  among  the  early 
Christians  is  recorded  by  Bishop  Godwin  in  his  "  Ecclesias- 
tical Rites  of  the  Hebrews  :  "  When  any  catechumenist  died, 
some  living  person  being  placed  under  the  bed  of  the  deceased, 
the  latter  was  asked  whether  he  would  be  baptized  ?  The 
corpse  not  replying,  the  person  under  the  bed  answered  for 
him  that  he  would  be  baptized,  and  the  ceremony  was  per- 
formed accordingly/!* 

Previous  to  the  procession  to  the  tomb,  a  crier  proclaimed, 
"  Whoever  will  attend  the  funeral  must  come  now."  To  lead 
the  procession  there  were  mourning  women,  as  mentioned  in 
Jeremiah.  J  We  hear  also  of  the  minstrels  or  musicians  of 
Scripture,  playing  melancholy  tunes.  The  addition  of  tumblers 
and  buffoons  Dionysius  Halicarnassus  makes  not  a  general 
practice,  but  says  that  it  was  limited  to  persons  who  had  lived 
merrily.  There  appears,  however,  to  have  been  such  a  variety 
in  funereal  customs,  that  none  can  be  called  universal.  It  is 
however  stated  that  the  face  of  the  corpse,  when  carried  out, 
was  uncovered,  and  sometimes  painted,  to  make  it  more 
agreeable,  especially  those  of  young  maids.  But  in  all  those 
cases  where  the  face  of  the  dead  was  deformed  or  changed,  it 
was  covered.  § 

Death  itself  being  supposed  to  be  muffled  in  black,  it  was 
the  colour  of  mourning  from  the  earliest  times.  This  was  the 
case  among  the  Greeks  generally.  And  it  was  not  until  the 
time  of  the  emperors  that  white  garments  were  substituted  for 
black  ones  in  the  case  of  the  women.  || 

At  the  funerals  of  eminent  persons,  the  mourners  were 
adorned  with  garlands,  and  carried  torches  or  tapers,  or 
some  ornaments  for  the  deceased,  or  images  of  the  infernal 
gods.  The  sons  of  the  deceased  walked  with  their  heads 
veiled,  the  daughters  barefooted,  and  with  their  hair  dis- 

*  Sketches  of  Institutions,  etc.,  of  the  Romans,  pp.  398,  400. 

t  Rous's  Arch.  Att.,  p.  241.      J  Jer.  ix.  17.      §  Arts  of  Greeks  and  Romans,  96. 

||   Becker's  Callus,  translated  by  Metcalfe,  p.  409. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  409 

bevelled.  The  men  walked  before  the  corpse,  and  the  women, 
if  aged  or  relatives,  behind.* 

The  custom  of  weeping  and  throwing  dust  on  their  heads  is 
frequently  represented  on  the  Egyptian  monuments,  where 
the  men  and  women  have  their  dresses  fastened  by  a  band 
round  the  waist,  the  breast  being  bare,  as  described  by  Hero- 
dotus. For  seventy  days  the  family  continued  to  mourn  at 
home,  singing  the  funeral  dirge,  and  abstaining  from  the  bath, 
wine,  delicacies,  and  rich  clothing.^ 

The  mourners  at  funerals  proceeded  to  the  place  where  the 
body  was  to  be  burnt  or  buried.  The  pile  was  previously 
prepared  with  combustible  wood,  upon  which  the  corpse  was 
laid.  It  was  watered  with  perfumed  liquors  ;  a  finger  was  cut 
off  in  order  to  be  buried  ;  the  face  was  turned  towards  the 
sky ;  and  Charon's  fare,  commonly  a  silver  obolus,  was  placed 
in  the  mouth  of  the  deceased.  All  the  pile  was  surrounded 
with  cypress.  The  nearest  relation  turning  his  back,  while  the 
pile  was  being  inflamed,  threw  upon  it  the  arms  and  other 
effects  of  the  defunct.  A  sacrifice  was  also  made  of  oxen, 
bulls,  and  sheep,  which  were  thrown  upon  the  pile.  While  the 
body  was  burning,  the  mourners  stood  round  and  prayed  to 
the  winds  to  blow  upon  it,  and  make  it  burn  the  better.  A 
strong  wind  was  considered  a  good  omen.  A  bellman  was  in 
attendance  to  keep  off  any  who  appeared  disposed  to  meddle 
with  the  bones.  J 

When  the  body  was  consumed,  the  ashes  and  bones  were 
washed  with  milk  and  wine,  and  deposited  in  an  urn,§  as 
already  mentioned. 

According  to  Herodotus,  "  all  the  wandering  tribes  of  the 
Libyans  buried  their  dead  in  the  fashion  of  the  Greeks,  except 
the  Nasamonians.  They  bury  them  sitting,  and  are  right  care- 
ful when  the  sick  man  is  at  the  point  of  giving  up  the  ghost, 
to  make  him  sit,  and  not  let  him  die  lying  down."  || 

*  Becker's  Callus,  translated  by  Metcalfe,  97. 

t  Note  to  Sir  H.  Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  117,  118. 

J  Rous's  Archseologise  Atticse,  262. 

§  Arts  of  Greeks  and  Romans,  vol.  i.,  294.  ||  Melpomene,  190. 


410      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Sir  Henry  Rawlinson  remarks  that  the  primitive  inhabi- 
tants of  the  Canary  Islands,  who  were  a  genuine  African 
people,  buried  their  dead  standing,  some  with  a  staff  in  their 
hands.*  The  ancient  Britons  also  frequently  buried  their 
dead  in  a  sitting  posture,  the  hands  raised  to  the  neck,  and 
the  elbows  close  to  the  knees,  -f- 

Lucian,  in  describing  the  funeral  ceremonies  of  his  time, 
remarks  that  all  are  accompanied  with  complaints  and  mourn- 
ing, tears  and  sobs,  to  agree  with  the  master  of  the  ceremony, 
who  orders  all  matters,  and  recites  with  such  a  mournful 
voice  all  the  former  calamities  of  the  deceased  as  would 
make  them  weep,  if  they  had  never  seen  him.  So  that  the 
dead  man  is  the  most  happy  of  all  the  company,  for  while 
his  friends  and  relations  torment  themselves,  he  is  set  in  some 
convenient  place,  washed,  cleansed,  perfumed,  and  crowned, 
as  if  he  were  to  go  into  company.! 

But  the  strangest  custom  of  all  among  the  Romans  was  the 
occasional  introduction  to  funerals  of  mimics,  who  counter- 
feited the  words,  actions,  and  manners  of  the  deceased,  for  the 
purpose  of  turning  him  into  ridicule ;  though  in  some  cases 
they  were  called  upon  to  extol  his  virtues.  Suetonius  tells  us 
that  the  arch-mimic  Favo  was  present  at  the  funeral  of  the 
Emperor  Vespasian.  §  Sometimes  the  mimic  walked  before 
the  bier,  and  with  the  assistance  of  a  mask,  and  by  his  ges- 
tures, imitated  the  actions  of  the  deceased.  || 

Suetonius  relates  that  at  the  funeral  of  Vespasian,  the 
mimic  Favo  came  masked  with  a  vizard,  and  in  a  disguise 
like  the  emperor,  who  being  taxed  with  covetousness,  and 
counterfeiting  him  according  to  custom,  asked  aloud  before 
the  assembly,  those  who  had  the  management  of  the  funeral, 
how  much  the  charges  of  the  burial  came  to  ?  And  when  he 
heard  that  it  amounted  to  a  hundred  sesterces,  which  is  about 
£750,  he  cried  out  that  if  they  would  give  him  that  sum  of 

*  Prichard's  Natural  History  of  Man,  297. 

t  Note  to  Sir  H.  Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol.  iii.,  p.  139. 

J  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities,  tit.  "  Cadaver." 

§  Arts  of  Greeks  and  Romans,  vol.  ii.,  227.  ||  Id.,  283. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  411 

money,  they  might  throw  him  after  his  death  where  they 
should  think  fit*  Cornelius  Tacitus  tells  us  that  the  great 
magistrates  of  Rome  sometimes  carried  the  funeral  bed  of 
emperors  and  dictators.-f* 

By  the  pontifical  laws,  it  was  not  allowable  for  a  high 
priest  to  look  upon  a  dead  body ;  but  if  by  chance  he  had 
seen  one  in  his  way,  he  was  bound  by  the  law,  before  he 
went  any  farther,  either  to  throw  some  earth  upon  it,  or  to 
bury  it.J 

Marcus  ^Emilius  Lepidus,  who  had  been  six  times  declared 
chief  of  the  senate,  on  his  death-bed  gave  strict  orders  to  his 
sons  that  he  should  be  carried  out  to  burial  on  a  couch,  with- 
out the  usual  ornaments  of  purple  and  fine  linen,  and  that 
there  should  not  be  expended  on  his  funeral  more  than  ten 
pieces  of  brass ;  alleging  that  the  funerals  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished men  used  formerly  to  be  decorated  by  trains  of 
images,  and  not  by  vast  expense.§ 

Tacitus  tells  us  that  at  the  funeral  of  Germanicus — 

"  His  ashes  were  borne  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  tribunes  and 
centurions ;  before  them  were  carried  the  ensigns  unadorned,  and  the 
fasces  reversed.  As  they  passed  through  the  colonies,  the  populace  in 
black,  the  knights  in  their  purple  robes,  burned  precious  raiment, 
perfumes,  and  whatever  else  is  used  in  funeral  solemnities,  according 
to  the  ability  of  the  place  :  even  they  whose  cities  lay  remote  from  the 
route,  came  forth,  offered  victims,  and  erected  altars  to  the  gods  of 
the  departed,  and  with  tears  and  ejaculations  testified  their  sorrow. 
The  senate,  and  great  part  of  the  people,  filled  the 
road,  a  scattered  procession,  each  walking  and  expressing  his  grief 
as  inclination  led  him."  || 

The  same  distinguished  writer  tells  us  that — 

"  To  the  memory  of  Drusus  were  decreed  the  same  solemnities  as 

to  that  of  Germanicus,  with  many  superadded ;  the  natural  effect  of 

flattery,  which  gathers  strength  as  it  grows  older.     The  funeral  was 

signally  splendid  in  the  procession  of  images;  as  ^Eneas,  the  father  of 

*  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities,  tit.  "Funus." 

t  Ib.  J  Ib. 

§  Livy,  b.  xlviii.  ||  Annals,  b.  iii.,  c.  ii. 


412      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

the  Julian  race,  all  the  kings  of  Alba,  and  Romulus,  founder  of  Rome, 
next  the  Sabine  nobility,  Attus  Clausus,  and  the  effigies  of  the  rest 
of  the  Claudian  family,  were  displayed  in  lengthened  train."  * 

Pictures  or  images  of  illustrious  persons  connected  with  the 
deceased,  were  sometimes  carried  at  their  funerals.  The  urns 
containing  the  ashes  of  the  deceased,  collected  from  the 
funeral  pile,  were  deposited  in  a  large  building  erected  for 
the  purpose,  called  a  columbarium,  from  its  resemblance 
to  a  dovecote,  some  remains  of  which  still  exist  at  Rome. 
You  see  in  these  buildings  urns  of  different  dimensions, 
representing  the  father,  mother,  and  various  members  of 
the  family,  proportioned  to  the  size  of  the  children  at  the 
time  of  death. 

The  Romans,  we  are  told,  paid  the  greatest  attention  to 
funeral  rites,  because  they  believed  that  the  souls  of  the 
unburied  were  not  admitted  into  the  abodes  of  the  dead,  or 
at  least  wandered  a  hundred  years  along  the  river  Styx, 
before  they  were  allowed  to  cross  it ;  for  which  reason,  if  the 
bodies  of  their  friends  could  not  be  found,  they  erected  to 
them  an  empty  tomb,  at  which  they  performed  the  usual 
solemnities.  If  they  happened  to  see  a  dead  body,  they 
always  threw  some  earth  upon  it  ;  and  whoever  neglected  to 
do  so,  was  obliged  to  expiate  his  crime  by  sacrificing  a  hog  to 
Ceres.  Hence,  no  kind  of  death  was  so  much  dreaded  as 
shipwreck,  and  to  want  the  due  rites  was  considered  the 
greatest  misfortune.-f 

All  funerals  used  anciently  to  be  solemnised  at  night  with 
torches,  in  order  that  they  might  not  fall  in  the  way  of 
magistrates  and  priests,  who  were  supposed  to  be  violated 
by  seeing  a  corpse,  so  that  they  could  not  perform  sacred 
rites  until  they  were  purified  by  an  expiatory  sacrifice.  But 
in  after-ages,  public  funerals  were  celebrated  in  the  daytime, 
at  an  early  hour  in  the  forenoon,  and  with  torches  also. 
Private  or  ordinary  funerals  were  always  at  night.  J 

Instances  are  recorded  of  persons  coming  to  life  again  on 

*  Annals,  b.  iv.,  c.  9. 

t  Adam's  Roman  Antiquities,  435,  443.  J  Id.,  441. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  413 

the  funeral  pile  after  it  was  set  on  fire ;  and  of  others  who, 
having  revived  before  the  pile  was  kindled,  returned  home 
on  foot* 

Particular  ceremonies  have  been  adopted  by  all  nations 
to  mark  their  mourning  for  the  dead,  although  these  have 
varied  widely  in  different  countries.  The  Jews,  during 
the  whole  period  of  mourning,  were  to  cease  from  washing 
or  anointing  themselves,  or  changing  their  clothes.  Those 
ceremonies,  on  ordinary  occasions,  lasted  seven  days ;  but 
in  the  case  of  the  death  of  an  eminent  person,  as  in  those 
of  Moses  and  Aaron,  they  were  to  be  continued  for  a 
month.f 

The  ceremonies  by  which  the  Greeks  used  to  express  their 
sorrow  upon  the  death  of  their  friends,  and  on  other  occa- 
sions, were  various  and  uncertain.  Hence  it  was  that 
mourners  in  some  cities  demeaned  themselves  in  the  very 
same  manner  with  persons  who  in  other  places  designed  to 
express  joy ;  for  the  customs  of  one  city  being  different  from 
those  of  another,  it  sometimes  happened  that  what  in  one 
place  was  meant  for  an  expression  of  mirth,  was  in  others  a 
token  of  sorrow.  It  seems,  however,  to  have  been  a  general 
and  constant  rule  amongst  them  to  recede  as  much  as  pos- 
sible from  their  ordinary  customs,  by  which  change  they 
thought  it  would  appear  that  some  extraordinary  calamity 
had  befallen  them.  They  also  tore,  cut  off,  and  sometimes 
shaved  their  hair.J 

The  period  of  mourning  among  the  Romans,  on  the  part  of 
men,  or  of  distant  relatives,  appears  to  have  been  but  short. 
Widows  were,  however,  bound  to  mourn  for  their  husbands 
for  an  entire  year.  § 

The  Romans  while  mourning  kept  themselves  at  home, 
avoiding  every  entertainment  and  amusement,  neither  cutting 
their  hair  nor  beard.  They  dressed  themselves  in  black,  which 

*  Adam's  Roman  Antiquities,  447. 

t  Dr  Cox's  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Israelites,  p.  106. 

J  Potter's  Greek  Antiquities,  vol.  ii.,  196,  198. 

§  Pliny's  Letters,  b.  iv.,  ep.  2,  and  b.  vi.,  ep.  34. 


414     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

latter  custom  is  supposed  to  have  been  borrowed  from 
the  Egyptians.  Sometimes  they  attired  themselves  in  skins, 
laying  aside  every  kind  of  ornament,  not  even  lighting  a  fire, 
which  was  esteemed  an  ornament  to  a  house.  The  women 
on  these  occasions  laid  aside  their  gold  and  purple.  Under 
the  republic  they  dressed  in  black  like  the  men.  But  under 
the  emperors,  when  party-coloured  clothes  came  in  fashion, 
they  wore  white  in  mourning.* 

A  feast  of  ghosts  and  phantoms,  called  Lemuria,  was 
solemnised  the  Qth  day  of  May,  in  order  to  pacify  the 
manes  of  the  dead,  who  were  supposed  to  pay  visits  at  night, 
with  the  ill-natured  object  of  tormenting  the  living.  The 
institution  of  this  feast  is  ascribed  to  Romulus,  who,  to 
get  rid  of  the  ghost  of  his  brother  Remus,  whom  he  had 
ordered  to  be  murdered,  and  which  was  constantly  paying 
him  visits,  ordered  a  feast,  called  after  his  name,  Remuria  and 
Lemuria.  Sacrifices  were  offered  for  three  nights  together, 
during  which  time  all  the  temples  of  the  gods  were  shut  up, 
and  no  weddings  were  allowed  to  take  place.  The  principal 
ceremony  which  was  used  at  this  sacrifice  was  of  rather  a 
singular  nature.  About  the  middle  of  the  night,  the  person 
who  offered,  being  barefooted,  made  a  signal,  having  the 
fingers  of  his  hand  joined  to  his  thumb,  whereby  he  fancied 
that  he  kept  off  the  phantom  or  bad  spirit.  Then  he  washed 
his  hands  in  spring  water,  and  putting  black  beans  into  his 
mouth,  threw  them  behind  him,  uttering  these  words,  "  I 
deliver  myself  and  mine  by  these  beans,"  making  withal,  we 
are  told,  a  melancholy  noise,  with  pans  and  other  brass 
vessels,  which  they  used  to  strike  one  against  the  other, 
desiring  the  ghosts  to  withdraw,  and  repeating  nine  times 
together  an  urgent  request  that  they  would  retire  in  peace 
without  any  more  disturbing  the  living,*!'  a  solicitation  with 
which  it  appears  that  the  ghosts  were,  on  all  ordinary  cases 
at  least,  either  so  polite  or  so  obliging  as  to  comply. 

I   have   now    completed   the   survey  which   I   have   been 

*  Adam's  Roman  Antiquities,  451. 

t  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities,  tit.  "  Lemuria." 


DOMESTIC  LIFE  IN  THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.  415 

attempting  of  the  manner  of  life  and  daily  occupations  of  the 
people  of  the  ancient  world  ;  during  which  I  have  endeavoured 
to  trace  the  progress  of  civilisation  from  its  earliest  dawn  to 
the  period  when  it  had  attained  a  height  and  a  glory,  very 
little,  if  at  all,  inferior  to  the  splendour  with  which  it  beams 
forth  in  the  present  enlightened  age.  What  an  insight  into 
human  nature  is  thus  afforded !  How  striking  a  view  of 
the  inner  mind  of  society  is  by  this  means  unfolded  to  our 
mental  vision  !  How  varied  is  the  prospect  in  each  direction; 
and  how  chequered  is  the  scene  which  lies  open  before  us ! 
How  different  does  the  world,  when  beheld  under  this  phase, 
appear  to  what  we  in  these  days  see  it ;  and  yet  at  the  same 
time  how  strikingly  similar,  and  even  identical.  It  is  in  the 
one  moment  the  same  and  altogether  another  orb.  The 
people  and  their  institutions  vary  much  from  our  own  ;  but 
human  nature  itself  is  still  precisely  what  it  was,  and  what  it 
ever  will  be.  Mankind  and  their  various  callings  are  ever 
changing,  according  as  circumstances  influence  their  career. 
But  the  nature  of  man  is  ever  and  alike  unchangeable, 
although  events  may  affect  its  aspect.  The  grand,  and  stately, 
and  wondrous  machinery  is  what  it  originally  was,  however 
its  operations  may  vary  according  to  the  agents  by  whom  it 
is  stimulated  to  activity. 

Most  important  and  most  interesting  is  it,  moreover,  in  the 
comprehensive  survey  thus  taken  of  the  progress  of  mankind 
from  the  infancy  of  the  race  itself,  to  trace  out,  and  to  keep 
ever  clearly  in  view,  the  steady,  and  powerful,  and  ceaseless 
operation  of  those  grand  elements  of  civilisation,  through 
whose  mighty  and  mysterious,  though  invisible  agency,  the 
advancement  of  society,  and  the  elevation  of  mankind  have 
hitherto  been  so  far  effected  ;  and  through  whose  all-impor- 
tant instrumentality  in  the  course  of  ages,  when  the  appointed 
period  for  this  shall  have  been  prepared  and  shall  be 
reached,  will  eventually  be  accomplished  the  civilisation  of 
the  world.* 

*  Civilisation  considered  as  a  Science. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  JOHN  BUNYAN. 

BY  GEORGE  HURST,  ESQ., 
Fellow  of  the  Royal  Historical  Society. 

As  Mayor  of  Bedford  when  the  statue  of  John  Bunyan,  pre- 
sented to  that  town  by  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  was  lately 
inaugurated,  I  was  led  to  devote  some  attention  to  the  his- 
tory of  the  great  dreamer.  During  my  investigations  I  was 
led  to  the  conclusion  that  his  biographers  have  fallen  into 
some  errors. 

It  is  commonly  stated  that  Bunyan  was,  about  the  year  1728, 
born  at  Elstow,  a  village  near  Bedford ;  this  statement  is  cer- 
tainly incorrect.  He  was  born  at  Harrowden,  a  hamlet  be- 
longing to  Cardington,  a  parish  subsequently  famous  as  the 
residence  of  the  celebrated  philanthropist,  John  Howard. 
The  place  is  called  Bunyan  End,  but  it  is  now  a  ploughed 
field.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the  mistake  should  have 
occurred,  since  the  hamlet  of  Harrowden  adjoins  Elstow,  and 
Bunyan,  immediately  after  his  marriage,  occupied  the  cottage 
in  the  village  which  has  been  designated  as  his  birth-place. 

Mr  Offor  in  his  memoir,  quoting  from  Bunyan's  account  of 
himself,  concludes  that  he  was  "  a  travelling  tinker,  probably 
a  gipsy ;  "  and  Bunyan,  referring  to  his  descent,  styles  it  "  low 
and  contemptible."  But  the  probability  is  that  his  father 
belonged  to  the  class  of  village  tradesmen.  The  tinkers  were 
wandering  people,  who  lived  in  tents,  which  they  erected  on 
the  road-side  or  on  waste  ground  ;  but  Bunyan  and  his  father 
were  settled  inhabitants,  and  conducted  trade  as  braziers, 
then  called  tinkers,  as  the  occupation  consisted  chiefly  in 
repairing  culinary  vessels. 

In  Bunyan's  time  each  village  had  its  weaver,  carpenter, 
blacksmith,  wheel-wright,  and  other  artificers,  who,  with 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  JOHN  BUNYAN.  417 

small  farmers  and  graziers,  formed  a  class  which  ranked 
between  the  labourer  and  yeoman  or  farmer  who  cultivated 
his  own  land.  Watchmakers  and  bell-founders  occasionally 
conducted  their  occupations  in  remote  villages.  A  bell- 
founder  of  repute  carried  on  business  at  Wootton,  a  rural 
village  about  five  miles  from  Bedford,  and  where  the  name  of 
Bunyan  frequently  occurs  in  the  parish  register.  The  modest 
turn  of  Bunyan's  mind  would  dispose  him  to  speak  of  himself 
with  marked  humility,  and  he  would  shrink  from  exalting  his 
position  or  parentage  beyond  its  reality. 

It  has  been  represented  by  several  of  his  biographers  that 
Bunyan's  education  was  defective,  an  opinion  founded  on  his 
statement  in  "  Grace  Abounding,"  that  "  his  parents  put  him 
to  school  to  learn  both  to  read  and  to  write;  but  that  he 
soon  lost  the  little  that  he  learned."  But  he  must  have 
received  as  good  an  education  as,  at  this  period,  was  usually 
given  to  children  of  his  class.  Mr  Blower,  whose  researches 
have  been  very  extensive  in  matters  relating  to  Bunyan,  is  of 
opinion  that  he  studied  at  the  Bedford  Grammar  School. 
This  is  confirmed  by  a  passage  in  the  preface  to  the  "  Scrip- 
tural Poems,"  in  which  Bunyan  describes  himself  as  "  a 
mechanic  guided  by  no  rule,  but  what  he  gained  in  a  gram- 
mar school." 

The  Bedford  Grammar  School  was  a  free  foundation  for 
the  inhabitants  of  the  town,  so  that  Bunyan's  parents  must 
have  paid  for  his  instruction,  and  we  may  accordingly  infer 
that  they  were  in  moderate  circumstances. 

Bunyan,  as  a  youth,  entered  into  the  rural  sports  and 
amusements  of  the  period.  He  was  fond  of  bell-ringing, 
dancing,  "  the  game  of  cat,"  and  other  amusements.  He 
seems,  indeed,  to  have  alternated  between  merriment  and 
religious  despondency.  He  writes,  "  The  Lord,  even  in  my 
childhood,  did  scare  and  affright  me  with  fearful  dreams,  and 
did  terrify  me  with  dreadful  visions."  And  again  :  "  Often 
after  I  have  spent  this  and  the  other  day  in  sin,  I  have,  in  my 
bed,  been  greatly  afflicted,  while  asleep,  with  the  apprehen- 
sions of  devils  and  wicked  spirits  who  still,  as  I  then  thought, 

2  D 


418      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

laboured  to  draw  me  away  with  them."  His  waking  reflec- 
tions seem  also  to  have  tormented  him :  "  When  I  was  but 
nine  or  ten  years  old,"  he  writes,  "  I  did  so  distress  my  soul, 
that  then,  in  the  midst  of  many  sports  and  childish  vanities 
with  my  vain  companions,  I  was  often  cast  down,  and 
afflicted  in  my  mind  therewith ;  yet  I  could  not  let  go  my 
sins." 

With  all  his  self-accusation,  we  do  not  find  that  Bunyan 
was  addicted  to  any  actual  vices,  if  we  may  except  a  pernici- 
ous habit  of  swearing.  He  was  no  drunkard ;  he  was  never 
suspected  of  dishonesty  ;  and  he  thoroughly  exonerates  him- 
self from  any  sexual  irregularities.  He  was  led  to  abandon 
the  use  of  oaths  by  a  woman,  whom  he  styles  "  a  loose  and 
ungodly  wretch  ; "  she  told  him  that  he  was  the  ungodliest 
fellow  for  swearing  that  she  ever  heard  in  her  life,  and  that 
by  thus  doing  he  was  able  to  spoil  all  the  youth  in  the  whole 
town,  if  they  came  but  in  his  company. 

As  a  youth  he  entered  the  army,  three  years  after  the  com- 
mencement of  the  civil  war.  It  has  been  debated  whether 
he  joined  the  royal  or  the  Parliamentary  forces.  In  the  Life 
of  Bunyan,  appended  to  the  twenty -eighth  edition  of  the 
"Pilgrim's  Progress,"  printed  in  1752,  it  is  stated:  "Being 
a  soldier  in  the  Parliament's  army  at  the  siege  of  Leicester  in 
1645,  he  was  drawn  out  to  stand  sentinel,  but  another  soldier 
voluntarily  desired  to  go  in  his  room  ;  which  Mr  Bunyan 
consenting  to,  he  went ;  and  as  he  stood  sentinel  there,  was 
shot  into  the  head  with  a  musket-bullet,  and  died."  The 
incident  is  related  by  Mr  Southey. 

Among  the  more  recent  biographers,  Mr  Brown,  minister  of 
the  Bunyan  Meeting  in  Bedford,  remarks  that "  on  which  side 
in  the  civil  wars  he  took  up  arms  is  still  a  moot  point."  But 
Mr  Offor  and  Mr  Copner  are  strongly  of  opinion  that  he 
must  have  been  a  Royalist.  His  adherence  to  monarchical 
principles  is  testified  in  many  parts  of  his  works  ;  one  passage 
may  be  quoted.  In  the  preface  to  his  discourse  on  Anti- 
christ, he  writes :  "  My  loyalty  to  my  king,  my  love  to  my 
brethren,  and  my  service  to  my  country  have  been  the  cause  - 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  JOHN  BUNYAN.  419 

of  my  present  scribble."  It  is  acknowledged  that  he  attended 
the  church  in  his  early  years,  and  his  bell-ringing  propensities 
indicate  that  he  was  at  least  nominally  a  churchman,  from 
which  we  should  also  infer  that  in  "  Good  King  Charles' 
golden  days  "  he  must  have  been  a  Royalist. 

Shortly  after  his  return  from  the  wars,  he  married  his  first 
wife,  by  whom  he  had  four  children.  From  his  own  account 
he  entered  into  the  marriage  state  without  having  made  any 
provision  for  housekeeping.  He  writes  that  he  and  his  wife 
had  not  a  dish  or  a  spoon  between  them.  His  wife,  the 
daughter  of  a  pious  father,  was  an  orphan  ;  and  if  she  pos- 
sessed but  few  worldly  effects,  she  brought  to  her  husband 
what  was  far  better,  industrious  and  well-regulated  habits. 
She  possessed  two  books,  "The  Plain  Man's  Pathway  to 
Heaven,"  and  "The  Practice  of  Piety,"  a  legacy  from  her 
father.  She  and  her  husband  read  these  books  together. 

Bunyan  began  to  attend  church  regularly,  but  afterwards 
he  hardly  considered  that  he  was  then  a  religious  man, 
nor  could  he  have  been  so  considered  by  the  Puritans,  as  on 
Sunday  afternoons  he  indulged  in  rural  sports  which  were 
then  sanctioned.  In  early  life  Bunyan  was  afflicted  with  a 
kind  of  morbid  infatuation.  He  seemed  to  think  sinfulness 
attached  to  his  favourite  pursuit  of  bell-ringing,  and  lest 
he  should  be  doing  wrong  he  refrained  from  its  indulgence  ; 
but  he  made  a  compromise  between  what  he  considered  his 
duty  and  his  inclination,  by  going  to  the  bell-tower,  "  to  look 
on."  He  then  began  to  think  that  one  of  the  bells  might  fall, 
so  to  be  in  a  place  of  security  where  he  might  watch  the 
ringers,  he  stood  under  one  of  the  large  beams  that  is  placed 
across  the  tower.  But  even  there  he  thought,  "  Suppose  the 
swing  of  the  bell  should  cause  it  to  fall  askance,  it  might 
rebound  from  the  wall  and  kill  me  nevertheless."  To  become 
more  secure  he  stood  "  at  the  steeple  door."  Then  he  thought 
he  might  be  safe,  but  soon  his  mind  misgave  him,  and  it 
occurred  to  him  that  the  steeple  might  fall,  so  eventually  he 
was  scared  away  altogether. 

For  a  time  Bunyan  halted  between  two  opinions.     Hearing 


420      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

several  poor  women  engage  in  conversation  upon  the  natural 
condition  of  mankind,  and  the  blessedness  of  the  "  new  birth," 
he  joined  them  frequently,  and  from  their  conversation 
became  convinced  that  he  lacked  the  earnest  of  spiritual  life. 
Becoming  acquainted  with  Mr  Gifford,  a  Baptist  minister  at 
Bedford,  who  first  officiated  at  the  community  which  after- 
wards became  celebrated  under  the  pastorate  of  Bunyan, 
he  was  received  by  him  into  church-fellowship.  From  his 
scriptural  knowledge  and  fluency  of  utterance,  Mr  Gifford 
and  his  people  insisted  on  his  preaching  in  the  surrounding 
villages.  While  prosecuting  his  early  ministrations,  Bunyan 
underwent  violent  persecution.  During  the  Protectorate 
he  was  vigorously  opposed  by  the  Presbyterians,  and  on  the 
Restoration,  the  episcopal  clergy  under  Charles  II.  deter- 
mined to  enforce  his  silence.  On  the  charge  of  preach- 
ing to  the  lieges,  he  was  committed  to  prison  on  the  I2th 
November  1660,  and  kept  in  restraint  till  early  in  1666.  He 
was  then  liberated,  but  after  six  months  was  again  incarcerated, 
and  made  to  endure  imprisonment  for  other  six  years.  Dis- 
charged from  prison  early  in  1672,  he  was  arrested  a  third 
time,  but  after  a  few  months'  detention  he  permanently 
obtained  his  liberty. 

A  belief  is  erroneously  entertained  that  Bunyan  suffered 
imprisonment  on  Bedford  Bridge.  During  the  seventeenth 
century  a  place  for  warding  offenders  was  built  against 
the  central  pier  of  the  bridge  over  the  river  Ouse.  But  as 
the  bridge  was  only  fourteen  feet  wide,  it  is  evident  that  it 
could  not  have  accommodated  fifty-two  persons,  who,  we  are 
informed,  shared  Bunyan's  imprisonment.  But  there  is  on 
the  point  conclusive  evidence.  From  the  records  of  the 
common  council  of  Bedford  we  have  the  following  : 

"  \\th  July  1661. — The  Bayliffe  having  this  day  informed  the 
councel  that  the  town  prison  upon  ye  Bridge  is  farr  out  of  repaire  so 
that  it  is  not  fit  to  secure  prisoners,  it  is  ordayned  by  Mr  Maior  and 
the  Aldermen  (his  brethren)  the  Bayliffe  Burgesses  and  Coralty  in 
this  present  Councell  assembled,  that  the  Chamblins  shall  forthwth 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  JOHN  BUN  VAN.  421 

take  order  to  repaire  it  both  for  ye  stone-worke  and  tymber-worke 
and  otherwise  making  it  secure  as  they  shall  deeme  meete." 

The  preceding  minute,  it  will  be  remarked,  is  dated  eight 
months  after  the  period  when  Bunyan  was  first  committed  to 
prison  ;  and  then  the  prison  on  the  bridge  is  declared  to  have 
been  so  far  out  of  repair  as  to  be  unfit  for  its  purpose. 

Bunyan  was  incarcerated  in  the  county  prison,  which  stood 
in  the  High  Street,  and  the  site  of  which  is  now  an  open 
space,  measuring  1 10  feet  in  length  by  30  feet  in  breadth. 

The  story  of  a  gold  ring,  with  the  letters  I.  B.  indented 
upon  it,  having  been  found  among  the  rubbish  when  the 
bridge  was  taken  down,  has  been  seriously  put  forward  as 
evidence  that  Bunyan  must  have  been  confined  in  the  Bridge 
Prison.  To  this  statement  it  may  be  a  sufficient  answer,  that 
as  Bunyan  was  necessitated  to  tag  laces  for  the  support  of 
his  family  during  his  imprisonment,  it  is  most  unlikely  he 
would  indulge  in  wearing  a  gold  ring.  The  initials  on  the 
ring  do  not  necessarily  signify  John  Bunyan. 

In  prison,  Bunyan  did  not  experience  a  rigorous  restraint. 
Under  the  favour  of  the  jailer,  he  was  permitted  to  visit  his 
family  and  to  exhort  publicly.  He  relates  that  being  on  one 
occasion  permitted  to  visit  Christian  friends  in  London,  his 
enemies  were  much  offended,  and  menaced  the  jailer  with 
dismissal.  During  the  last  four  years  of  his  imprisonment 
he  attended  the  Baptist  meeting,  and  in  the  eleventh  year 
was  elected  to  its  pastorate.  Towards  the  close  of  1672  he 
received  a  royal  pardon,  under  the  Great  Seal,  in  which,  it 
is  important  to  remark,  he  is  described  as  a  prisoner  in  "  the 
common  jail  of  our  county  of  Bedford." 

After  his  liberation,  Bunyan  lived  sixteen  years  ;  but  of  the 
events  of  his  life  during  that  period  we  know  but  little.  He 
visited  London  once  a  year,  and  made  excursions  to  other 
parts  of  England.  Wherever  he  went,  his  celebrity  as  a 
preacher  procured  him  numerous  auditors. 

Brought  up  in  the  Church  of  England,  Bunyan  renounced 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  and  became  a  Nonconformist. 


422      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

During  a  controversy  into  which  he  was  reluctantly  led,  he 
remarked,  "  Since  you  would  know  by  what  name  I  would  be 
distinguished  from  others,  I  tell  you  I  would  be,  and  I  hope  I 
am,  a  Christian,  and  choose,  if  God  count  me  worthy,  to  be 
called  a  Christian,  a  believer,  or  such  other  name  which  is 
approved  by  the  Holy  Ghost."  These  having  been  his  senti- 
ments, we  can  easily  understand  why  his  works  contain  suffi- 
cient catholicity  to  render  them  acceptable  to  all  denomina- 
tions. 

Bunyan,  it  has  been  stated,  continued  to  work  as  a  brazier 
up  to  the  period  of  his  decease.  This  is  improbable.  On  his 
return  from  Reading,  whither  he  had  proceeded  on  the  bene- 
volent errand  of  reconciling  an  offended  father  with  his  son, 
he  was  seized  with  an  ailment,  which  prematurely  closed  his 
life.  He  died  at  London  on  the  3ist  August  1688.  His 
remains  were  deposited  in  the  burial-ground  at  Bunhill 
Fields. 

Bunyan  was  prone  to  indulge  a  habit  of  composing  religious 
rhymes.  Several  unpublished,  verses  from  his  pen  are  con- 
tained in  a  copy  of  Foxe's  "  Acts  and  Monuments,"  preserved 
in  the  library  of  the  Bedford  Literary  Institution. 

During  his  imprisonment,  the  Bible  and  Foxe's  "  Martyrs  " 
were  his  chief  companions ;  but  he  was  supplied  by  his 
friends  with  other  books.  From  Spenser's  "  Faerie  Queene," 
"  the  man  of  hell,  that  calls  himself  Despayre,"  might  have 
suggested  to  him  the  Giant  Despair.  Both  propose  to  their 
victims  the  most  powerful  inducements  to  self-destruction. 
Bunyan's  Christian  says,  "  My  soul  chooseth  strangling  rather 
than  life,  and  the  grave  is  more  easy  for  me  than  this  dun- 
geon." And  Spenser's  Despayre  exclaims : 

"  For  what  hath  life,  that  may  it  loved  make, 
And  gives  not  rather  cause  it  to  forsake  ?  " 

The  wife  of  the  giant  counsels  to  "take  them  into  the 
castle-yard  to-morrow,  and  show  them  the  bones  and  skulls 
of  those  thou  hast  already  despatched."  And  Spenser,  in  a 
description,  shows 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  JOHN  BUNYAN.  423 

"  Stubs  of  trees 

On  which  had  many  wretches  hanged  beene, 
Whose  carcases  were  scattered  on  the  greene." 

The  Giant  Despair  "  told  them  that  since  they  were  never 
like  to  come  out  of  that  place,  their  only  way  would  be  forth- 
with to  make  an  end  of  themselves  either  with  knife,  halter, 
or  poison  ;  for  why,"  said  he,  "  should  you  choose  life,  seeing  it 
is  attended  with  so  much  bitterness."  Spenser's  Despayre, 
after  advancing  powerful  reasons  why  the  "  Red  Crosse 
Knight  "  should  kill  himself, 

"Brought  unto  him  swords,  ropes,  poison,  fire, 
And  all  that  might  him  to  perdition  draw." 

These  similarities  do  not  detract  from  the  merit  of  the 
"Pilgrim's  Progress,"  which  is  unquestionably  one  of  the 
most  remarkable,  as  well  as  original,  of  uninspired  works. 

Of  the  earlier  editions  of  Bunyan's  "  Pilgrim,"  few  copies 
can  be  obtained.  The  only  known  copy  of  the  third  edition 
was  destroyed  by  a  fire  at  the  residence  of  Mr  Offor.  Of  the 
first  edition,  printed  in  1678  by  Nathaniel  Pinder  in  the 
Poultry,  only  one  copy  is  known  to  exist ;  it  has  lately  been 
reproduced  in  fac-simile. 


THOMAS  MULOCK:  AN  HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 

BY  ELIHU  RICH,  ESQ.,* 
Fellow  of  the  Royal  Historical  Society. 

THOMAS  MULOCK  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1789  ;  not  in  the 
north  of  Ireland,  as  has  been  stated,  but  in  or  near  Dublin,  his 
father  having  possessed  a  country  house  not  far  distant  from 
that  city.  His  father  was  an  Irishman,  and  held  the  official 
position  of  comptroller  of  the  stamp-office.  His  mother  was 
of  Swiss  extraction,  a  Miss  Horner,  granddaughter  of  the 
Burgomaster  of  Bale,  a  tall  and  stately  lady,  to  whose  mental 
qualities  Mr  Mulock  was  more  probably  indebted  for  his 
great  natural  abilities  than  to  his  father,  who,  however,  was  a 
man  of  good  business  habits,  and  of  a  fine  genial  tempera- 
ment. Thomas  Mulock  was  the  second  of  twenty-two  chil- 
dren born  to  this  happy  pair.  When  assembled  round  the 
family  table,  they  formed  so  large  a  company  that  Mr 
Mulock  was  accustomed  to  compare  them,  jocularly,  to  a 
public  meeting. 

Though  so  young  a  man,  during  the  viceroyalty  of  the 
Duke  of  Richmond  (1807-1813),  Thomas  Mulock  was  fre- 
quently a  guest  on  the  most  intimate  terms  at  the  Castle,  as 
an  evidence  of  which,  on  one  occasion,  when  he  had  forgotten 
his  glasses  (being  extremely  short-sighted),  the  good-natured 
duke  ordered  the  dinner  to  be  kept  waiting  while  he  returned 

*  We  regret  to  announce  that  Mr  Rich  is  no  longer  among  us  ;  he  died  on  the 
nth  June  1875.  Born  on  the  8th  October  1818,  he  entered  a  house  >f  business 
in  the  city  of  London.  He  subsequently  conducted  a  private  seminary,  but 
latterly  devoted  himself  wholly  to  literature.  For  some  time  he  successfully  con- 
ducted the  People's  Magazine,  and  he  was  a  copious  contributor  to  Chambers 's 
Journal  and  other  serials.  Of  about  a  hundred  volumes  which  proceeded  from 
his  pen,  most  of  them  anonymously,  the  more  important  are  his  index  to  Sweden 
borg's  "Arcana  Ccelestia,"  and  his  illustrated  work  on  the  Franco-German  war, 
in  two  volumes,  royal  octavo. 


THOMAS  MULOCK  :  AN  HISTORICAL  SKETCH.  425 

home  to  fetch  them.  Perhaps  he  presumed  a  little  on  the 
honour  shown  to  him,  for  on  one  occasion,  when  going  to 
dine  at  the  Castle,  he  said  to  his  father,  "Just  post  this  letter 
for  me  ;  I  am  in  a  hurry."  The  answer  was  not  less  charac- 
teristic of  the  father  than  the  request  was  of  the  son. 
Looking  at  him  with  a  good-humoured  smile,  the  old  gentle- 
man simply  replied,  "  I  will  tell  the  other  servant? 

Thomas  was  destined  by  his  parents  for  the  Church,  and 
arrangements  were  being  made  to  send  him  to  Trinity 
College.  His  own  views — influenced  perhaps  by  the  gaiety 
of  the  Castle — were  different.  He  persuaded  his  father  to  let 
him  have  the  money  (about  ^1000)  which  would  have  been 
spent  on  his  education ;  and  went  to  seek  his  fortune  in  the 
world  in  company  with  his  elder  sister  Sophia.  He  left  Ireland 
before  the  expiration  of  the  duke's  viceroyalty,  most  pro- 
bably in  the  early  part  of  1812,  and  first  went  to  Liverpool, 
where  he  entered  a  commercial  house.  I  have  no  informa- 
tion as  to  where  he  first  made  the  acquaintance  of  George 
Canning,  but  in  the  election  of  that  year  he  accompanied 
him  about  the  town  to  canvass  for  votes,  and  bravely  stood  by 
his  side  on  the  hustings,  when  they  were  both  pelted  with  a 
merciless  shower  of  rotten  eggs,  fishbones,  and  cabbage-stalks. 
He  and  Canning  were  thenceforth  stanch  friends,  and  during 
the  next  few  years  Mulock  was  frequently,  if  not  for  long 
periods,  in  London,  mingling  with  the  fast  men  and  the  wits 
of  the  period.  It  was  the  age  of  Byron,  Campbell,  Scott, 
Southey,  Wordsworth,  Coleridge,  Moore,  Montgomery,  Lock- 
hart,  and  Croly,  not  to  mention  others  of  less  note.  Society 
was  very  much  what  the  Prince  Regent  by  his  example  made 
it.  Party  spirit  ran  high,  questions  of  high  policy  were 
mingled  with  the  wretched  personalities  of  the  Princess  of 
Wales  and  her  royal  persecutor,  and  conspiracy  was  rife 
among  the  populace.  Thomas  Mulock,  however,  naturally  took 
his  place  among  men  of  high  attainments,  and  when  he  went  on 
the  Continent,  towards  1820,  it  was  with  the  serious  purpose 
of  lecturing  on  English  literature;  and  these  lectures,  judging 
from  all  the  circumstances,  must  have  been  delivered  in  the 


426      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

French  language.  At  Paris  he  alluded  in  one  of  his  discourses 
to  Canning,  and  remarked  in  his  dogmatic  manner  that  it 
was  impossible  he  could  ever  be  prime  minister.  Looking 
up,  he  saw  Mrs  Canning  among  the  audience.  It  is  probable 
that  she  reported  the  remark  to  Canning,  for  on  the  very 
night  (in  1827)  when  the  king  sent  for  the  great  statesman 
to  form  an  administration,  he  wrote  to  his  friend  Mulock 
from  the  palace  immediately  after  the  interview  with  his 
Majesty,  and  informed  him,  triumphantly,  that  he  was  prime 
minister. 

Mr  Mulock  was  accompanied  in  his  tour  on  the  Continent 
by  the  same  attached  sister  who  left  Ireland  with  him,  and  to 
whose  sons,  Mr  William  Villiers  Sankey,  and  Mr  Robert 
Sankey,  I  am  indebted  for  such  of  those  particulars  as  I  have 
not  heard  Mr  Mulock  himself  relate.  On  the  Continent,  as 
in  London,  he  mingled  with  the  eminent  men  of  the  period. 
Among  others,  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Sismondi,  Spurz- 
heim,  Benjamin  Constant,  Jomard,  and  Talma.  There  also 
he  met  with  Wordsworth  and  his  sister,  who  were  among  the 
host  of  travellers  that  took  advantage  of  the  cessation  of 
hostilities  to  go  abroad. 

Shortly  before  Mr  Mulock's  departure  for  the  Continent,  the 
Literary  Gazette  had  been  started  by  the  late  Mr  Jerdan,  who 
had  previously  edited  the  Sun.  In  the  third  volume  of  his 
autobiography  (p.  123),  Mr  Jerdan  speaks  of  his  and  Mr 
Mulock's  acquaintance  with  Prince  Louis  Napoleon,  and 
adds : 

"  It  is  an  odd  coincidence  that  I  recognise  him  (Thomas  Mulock) 
as  the  author  of  three  clever  satirical  letters  in  the  Gazette,  under  the 
signature  and  in  the  character  of  SATAN,  which  made  a  noise  at  the 
time ;  which  my  correspondent  was  increasing  by  giving  a  course 
of  lectures  on  English  Literature  at  Geneva,  and  afterwards  in 
London." 

These  letters  of  "  Satan  "  are  to  be  found  in  the  Literary 
Gazette  for  the  year  1820,  at  pp.  765,  781,  and  796,  and  are 
headed  "  Letters  from  a  Distinguished  Personage."  Mr 


THOMAS  MULOCK  :  AN  HISTORICAL  SKETCH.  427 

Jerdan,  as  editor,  gives  as  his  reason  for  inserting  them  that  he 
had  no  wish  to  make  so  powerful  a  personage  his  enemy,  and 
the  devil  goes  on  to  say,  in  the  first  letter,  that  there  is  not  a 
kingdom  or  a  court — a  city  or  a  village — a  family  or  an  indi- 
vidual— over  whom  he  has  not  occasionally  some  influence ; 
he  has  a  seat  in  Parliament,  and  not  infrequently  assists  at 
the  Privy  Council  ;  nay,  he  can  boast  of  having  been  more 
than  once  on  the  Bench  of  Bishops : 

"  In  the  supercilious  looks  of  the  Churchman  as  well  as  in  the 
affected  humility  of  the  Dissenter,  the  lineaments  of  my  countenance 
may  often  be  distinctly  traced.  I  am  sometimes  to  be  seen  beneath 
the  broad-brimmed  hat  of  the  Quaker,  and  all  the  young  men  about 
town  must  have  frequently  recognised  me  in  a  more  alluring  form — 
peeping  slily  from  under  a  straw  bonnet,  or  enveloped  in  the  folds 
of  a  silk  petticoat." 

In  the  second  letter  there  are  touches  of  satire  which  might 
have  been  written  yesterday.  After  boasting  of  the  crowds 
of  votaries  who  worship  him  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  more 
especially  in  the  Temples  of  Vanity,  Ambition,  Pleasure, 
Fortune,  and  Fame,  and  even  in  the  courts  of  Justice,  "  Satan  " 
says: 

"  It  is  very  well  known  that  I  am  the  patron  of  all  those  who  hold 
opinions  which  tend  to  represent  man  as  an  automaton,  and  the 
world  as  a  machine ;  it  is  not  equally  notorious  that  I  give  the  chief 
impulse  to  those  bodies,  so  numerous  in  every  country,  who  substi- 
tute by  my  means  their  own  morbid  feelings  for  the  simple  precepts 
of  what  you  call  your  sacred  writings." 

Then,  after  hinting  at  various  forms  of  fanaticism  and 
superstition,  the  devil  adds  :  "  I  may  observe  that  one  of  my 
chief  amusements  is  to  preside  over  the  ever-varying  fashions 
of  female  attire,"  specifying  rouge  for  the  face  and  certain 
extravagances  to  improve  the  figure  ;  nor  forgetting  laces  and 
flounces  and  feathers,  Spencers  and  pretty  bonnets,  and  pads 
of  all  kinds  (the  chignon  had  not  then  been  invented),  and 
the  various  places,  such  as  balls,  routs,  and  assemblies,  where 


428      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

these  allurements  are  displayed.  Finally,  his  Satanic  Majesty 
claims  the  merit  of  having  suggested  the  establishment  of 
circulating  libraries,  and  the  employment  of  nurses,  tutors,  and 
governesses,  for  which  he  assigns  good  reasons  ;  the  circulation 
of  novels  being  finely  designed  to  promote  the  extension  of 
the  primeval  temptation,  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  and 
nurses  and  governesses  being  admirable  means  of  relieving 
parents  of  their  proper  duties. 

In  the  third  letter,  "  Satan "  advances  a  claim  which  con- 
cerns very  nearly  the  Royal  Historical  Society.  Men  are 
the  puppets  ;  he  is  the  mind  which  plans  and  directs  their 
movements.  The  influence  and  presence  of  the  devil  is  the 
key  to  the  true  interpretation  of  history  !  He  sums  up  in- 
stances from  all  time,  ending  with  the  French  Revolution  and 
the  wars  which  followed  it,  all  planned  by  him.  It  will  not 
be  his  fault  if  England  does  not  follow  the  example.  After 
warning  the  nation,  he  warns  the  ladies  in  particular  to 
beware  of  him,  for  "  they  can  never  have  a  tfoe  a  tete,  or  an 
assignation  with  a  dear  friend,  without  his  participation  and 
knowledge." 

Finally,  he  turns  upon  the  parsons  : 

"  I  trust  that  the  clergy,  who  are  in  general  so  vociferous  against 
me,  will,  in  talking  of  me  in  future,  speak  of  me  as  it  becomes  one 
gentleman  to  speak  of  another.  Vulgar  abuse  ill  suits  the  dignity  of 
their  profession,  or  the  importance  of  my  character.  Pray  what 
would  be  their  use  if  there  were  not,  or  if  there  never  had  been,  a 
devil  ?  Not  less  than  twenty  thousand  of  them  in  this  country  eat 
their  bread  indirectly  through  my  means ;  and  if  I  were  once  fairly 
disposed  of,  it  is  demonstrable  that  there  would  be  no  further  occa- 
sion for  tithes.  I  know  I  have  a  good  many  friends  even  among  the 
clergy  ;  and  in  the  hope  of  their  still  increasing  in  number,  I  forbear 
saying  anything  harsh ;  but,"  he  concludes,  "  let  them  look  to  it,  for 
we  stand  or  fall  together." 

Such,  if  Mr  Jerdan's  memory  did  not  deceive  him,  were 
the  sketches  of  society  written  by  my  late  friend  fifty-four 
years  ago,  under  the  pseudonym  of  his  Satanic  Majesty. 


THOMAS  MULOCK  :  AN  HISTORICAL  SKETCH.  429 

The  editor  of  the  Gazette  was  overwhelmed  with  communica- 
tions, as  he  said,  in  the  number  for  December  16,  1820,  from 
other  devils,  whom  it  was  impossible  to  oblige.  A  young 
lady  was  anxious  to  know  if  the  devil  was  likely  to  appear  in 
the  shape  of  a  handsome  young  man,  or  an  officer  of  the 
Guards.  A  merchant  thought  he  would  take  the  hint  and 
trade  honestly  for  the  future,  but  was  soon  a  bankrupt,  and 
so  on.  Whether  Mr  Mulock  borrowed  the  idea  from  Sage's 
"  Diable  Boiteux  "  I  know  not,  but  he  had  a  sincere  belief  in 
the  devil,  and  I  have  myself  heard  him  speak  bitterly  of  those 
whom  he  believed  to  be  influenced  by  the  devil  in  their 
behaviour  towards  him.  It  is  curious,  by  the  way,  how  freely 
the  devil  was  made  use  of  in  the  seditious  publications  of 
Paris  in  1848,  and  again  in  1870,  after  the  fall  of  Napoleon 
III.  I  have  a  pamphlet  in  my  hand,  published  at  the  latter 
period,  "  Si  j'etais  le  diable  "  ("  If  I  were  the  devil,  what  I 
would  do  to  destroy  France  ")  ;  and  the  writer,  in  the  char- 
acter of  "  Satan,"  goes  on  to  enumerate  the  various  doings  of 
the  Radicals  and  Communists  as  his  favourite  means  of 
action,  thus  verifying  the  satirist's  idea  of  the  part  played  by 
his  Satanic  Majesty  in  the  events  of  history. 

If  the  letters  of  "  Satan  "  may  be  accepted  as  an  illustra- 
tion of  Mr  Mulock's  finer  vein  of  satire,  it  would  convey  a 
false  impression  of  his  character  to  omit  all  notice  of  the 
coarser  warp  in  his  nature  which  condescended  to  personali- 
ties which  it  is  not  the  fashion  of  our  time  to  indulge  in. 

An  illustration  of  this  unsparing  form  of  satire,  is  to  be  found 
in  the  files  of  the  Sun.  I  am  myself  old  enough  to  remember 
the  famous  demagogue,  Henry  Hunt,  not,  of  course,  at  the 
period  referred  to,  but  nearer  the  end  of  his  career,  before 
hackney-coaches  had  gone  out  of  use,  and  when  blue  coats  and 
white  hats  were  still  the  prevailing  fashion.  Mr  Jerdan,  speak- 
ing of  Hunt's  famous  Spa  Fields  demonstration  (the  prototype 
of  the  Chartists  at  Kensington),  recalls  to  mind  "  Mr  Mulock, 
a  gentleman  of  rare  talent,"  as  having  contributed  "  a  series  of 
reports  and  bulletins,  on  the  assumed  ground  that  Hunt  had 
been  committed  to  Bedlam  as  a  lunatic,  giving  an  account  of 


430      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

his  aberrations  when  visitors  were  admitted,  which  would  not 
have  been  unworthy  of  Dean  Swift."* 

We  left  Mr  Mulock  lecturing  in  Paris,  where  he  offended 
Moore  by  damning  with  faint  praise  his  "  Lallah  Rookh."  From 
Paris  he  went  to  Geneva,  and  finally  extended  his  journey  to 
Italy  (in  1821),  where  he  fell  in  with  Byron,  who  speaks  of 
him  in  his  letters  to  Moore  as  Muley  Mulock.  My  impres- 
sion on  first  meeting  with  this  somewhat  happy  epithet  was 
that  Byron's  fancy  had  been  tickled  with  an  alliteration  which 
certainly  expressed  a  fact.  But  looking  at  the  old  pictures 
in  a  print  shop  a  few  weeks  ago,  my  attention  was  caught  by 
the  portrait  of  a  race-horse  named  Muley  Molock,  which 
must  have  been  well  known  at  that  time.  Lord  Byron  in  all 
probability  knew  the  history  of  this  horse  when  he  applied  it 
so  appropriately  to  the  dogmatic  lecturer. 

On  his  return  from  the  Continent,  probably  in  the  early 
part  of  1822,  Mr  Mulock  was  invited  by  the  Rev.  Sir  Har- 
court  Lees  to  visit  him  at  his  rectory  near  Newcastle-under- 
Lyne.  While  there,  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  late  Mr 
Minton,  who  appears  to  have  been  impressed  by  his  pro- 
nounced views  of  Christianity,  and  invited  him  to  take  up  his 
residence  in  the  neighbourhood,  in  order  to  evangelise  his 
workmen.  The  result  was  that  he  worked  earnestly  in  the 
ministry  at  Stoke-upon-Trent.  William  Howitt,  who  was  then 
courting  the  pretty  Quakeress,  Mary  Botham  of  Uttoxeter,  and 
was  therefore  often  in  the  neighbourhood,  has  recorded  a  visit 
to  Mr  Mulock's  place  of  worship  in  one  of  his  popular  descrip- 
tive sketches.  This  is  some  proof  that  Mr  Mulock  was  one  of 
the  lions  of  that  day,  fifty  years  ago.  William  Howitt  says,  in 
the  passage  referred  to : 

"  He  (Mr  Mulock)  was  a  gentleman  of  good  family  and  education. 
I  think  he  had  been  private  secretary  to  George  Canning,  and  had 
the  best  prospects.  [This  was  a  mistake.]  He  wrote  poetry  of  no 
mean  order,  and  forsaking  his  connection  with  Canning  [not  true, 
however,  he  was  in  correspondence  with  Canning  to  the  last],  and 
his  brighter  worldly  prospects,  had  lectured  on  English  literature  in 
*  Autobiography,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  130,  597- 


THOMAS  MULOCK  I  AN  HISTORICAL  SKETCH.  431 

most  of  the  capitals  of  Europe  (probably  in  French).  In  Paris  he 
had  ventured  to  speak  so  plainly  his  opinion  of  the  career  and  char- 
acter of  Bonaparte,  that  some  officers  who  had  served  under  him 
(namely,  Napoleon),  sent  the  lecturer  word  that  if  he  repeated  such 
sentiments  they  should  feel  obliged  to  call  him  to  account.  On 
receiving  this  message,  he  repeated  the  lecture  verbatim,  read  the 
letter,  and  treated  it  as  a  threat  of  assassination.  We  were  told  much 
of  this  extraordinary  man,  and,  accordingly,  we  went  to  hear  him. 
The  place  of  worship  was  a  large  upper  room  in  a  china  factory.  It 
was  perhaps  thirty  or  forty  yards  long,  and  ten  or  a  dozen  wide,  and 
of  a  proportionate  height.  Its  walls  were  bare  and  whitewashed. 
About  fifty  people  formed  his  audience  ;  ten  at  least  of  them  were 
ladies  of  known  wealth,  and  of  elegant  appearance ;  the  rest  were 
potters  in  their  working  clothes,  with  their  wives  and  children.  In 
the  midst  of  this  great  room,  thus  singularly  furnished,  stood  Thomas 
Mulock,  at  his  unique  reading-desk.  He  was  then  a  young  man  of 
gentlemanly,  and  even  handsome  person,  of  about  the  middle  size. 
[Perhaps  the  reading-desk  prevented  Mr  Howitt  from  judging  accu- 
rately, as  Mr  Mulock  was  certainly  close  upon  six  feet  high.]  He 
was  clad  in  a  blue  dress-coat  with  gilt  buttons,  a  buff  kerseymere 
waistcoat,  which  at  that  period  was  much  worn,  and  white  trousers. 
Altogether  he  irresistibly  reminded  you  of  Coleridge.  [But  he  was 
taller  and  slimmer.]" 

Referring  to  his  discourse  on  this  occasion,  Mr  Howitt 
says : 

"He  assured  us  that  all  the  preachers — the  Christian  world,  so 
called,  all  over — were  preaching  what  they  did  not  understand ;  and 
all  the  missionaries  to  every  region  of  the  globe  were  running  before 
they  were  sent,  and  on  a  business  which  they  knew  nothing  about." 

Certainly  Mr  Mulock  would  not  have  hesitated  to  say  so, 
for  I  have  heard  him  assert  much  the  same  thing  in  conversa- 
tion ;  but  to  explain  the  ground  of  his  convictions  would 
lead  us  too  far  into  debatable  questions,  which  in  a  society 
like  this  are  best  avoided.  Enough,  that  Mr  Mulock  was  a 
man  of  strong  aversions,  as  well  as  of  extreme  opinions.  "  Sir," 
he  said  on  one  occasion,  "  doctors,  lawyers,  and  parsons  are 


432      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

the  devil's  trinity  in  this  country ! "  and,  accordingly,  though 
it  is  a  digression  in  this  place,  when  pleading  for  the  recogni- 
tion of  the  independence  of  the  Southern  States  of  America, 
during  the  civil  war  in  that  country,  he  emphatically  said  : 

"  The  great  hindrance  to  a  proceeding  so  eminently  eligible  is  the 
pernicious  prevalence  of  lawyerdom  in  our  councils,  where,  unfortu- 
nately, firm  luminous  principles  of  comprehensive  statesmanship 
have  little  or  no  place.  The  Foreign  Office  can  do  nothing  without 
consulting  the  law  officers  of  the  Crown,  who  are  indisputably  the 
most  mischievous  advisers  when  the  wide  and  lofty  concerns  of 
nations  are  critically  in  question.  A  first-rate  porer  over  briefs — the 
most  renowned  Nisi  Prius  or  chancery  lawyer,  when  calamitously 
called  on  to  report  his  opinion  on  points  of  State  importance,  has 
nothing  to  guide  him  but  his  bit  of  Blackstone,  or,  at  furthest,  some 
dingy  dicta  ferreted  out  of  Lord  Stowell's  decisions.  As  for  the 
writers  on  what  is  absurdly  termed  the  Law  of  Nations,  their  works 
are  utterly  worthless,  for  they  are,  in  truth,  the  plausible  nothings 
evolved  from  the  subtle  minds  of  speculative  men.  International 
law  is  a  mere  abstraction — it  has  no  real  authoritative  existence  in  any 
part  of  the  world — and  let  Grotius,  Puffendorf,  and  Bynkershoek 
prattle  as  speciously  as  they  may,  the  only  law  of  nations  is  the  law 
of  the  strongest,  just  as  victorious  Brennus  cast  his  sword  into  the 
doubtful  scale.  Statesmen,  endowed  with  sound  judgment,  large 
views,  and  righteous  principles,  will  never  seek  the  aid  of  lawyers, 
whose  vocation  is  in  a  totally  different  sphere.  In  Westminster  Hall, 
let  them  enjoy  their  fame  and  their  fees,  but  when  the  great  interests 
of  nations  are  at  stake,  the  doors  of  Downing  Street  should  be  closed 
against  technical  lawyers — and  all  lawyers  are  inevitably  such — for 
their  faculty  habits  are  unfavourable  to  that  enlargement  of  mind 
which  is  indispensable  in  true  statesmanship." 

To  close  this  somewhat  long  parenthesis  and  return  to 
Mr  Mulock  at  the  Potteries,  he  appears  to  have  resided  at 
Hartshill  in  1823,  as  a  lodger,  in  a  house  adjoining  that  of  Mr 
Mellard,  a  tanner,  who  had  three  daughters,  all  members  of 
Mr  Mulock's  congregation,  and  accustomed  to  chat  with  him 
over  the  palings  which  divided  their  respective  gardens.  It 
would  be  wicked  to  say  that  the  three  girls  set  their  caps  at 


THOMAS  MULOCK  :   AN  HISTORICAL  SKETCH.  433 

the  handsome  young  parson,  but  having  to  account  for  the 
existence  of  a  well-known  name  in  modern  fiction,  it  is 
necessary  to  record  the  fact  that  he  married  the  youngest 
of  them,  and  there  is  a  legend  that  he  dressed  for  the  cere- 
mony all  in  white,  even  to  his  shoes,  which  were  of 
white  satin.  The  issue  of  the  marriage  were  two  sons  and 
a  daughter.  The  latter  is  known  to  fame  as  the  author 
of  "John  Halifax,  Gentleman,"  and  other  popular  fictions. 
The  record  of  the  sons  is  a  less  happy  one.  Thomas,  the 
elder,  studied  painting  at  the  Royal  Academy,  where  he 
took  a  conspicuous  part  in  some  act  of  rebellion,  and  Mr 
Mulock,  as  he  was  certain  to  do  in  such  a  case,  taking  the 
part  of  the  principals,  Brutus  like,  approved  of  his  son's  ex- 
pulsion. The  young  man  was  afterwards  on  the  point  of 
going  to  Australia,  when  he  fell  off  a  quay  wall,  and  was  so 
injured  that  he  died.  Benjamin,  the  younger,  entered  the 
Land  Transport  Corps,  and  was  employed  on  the  works  at 
Balaklava  during  the  Russian  war.  He  was  skilled  in  music, 
and  was  an  excellent  photographer.  In  the  latter  character 
he  was  employed  a  few  years  ago  in  South  America  to  photo- 
graph the  monthly  progress  of  the  Bahia  railway.  After  his 
return  home,  he  died  in  consequence  of  an  accident.  The 
photographs  are  on  a  large  scale,  and  beautifully  executed. 

While  Mr  Mulock  ministered  at  Stoke,  he  paid  one  or  more 
flying  visits  to  Oxford,  where  his  peculiar  religious  views  had 
gained  some  converts.  He  was  intimately  acquainted  with 
William  Wilberforce.  He  knew  the  sons,  and  did  not  much 
like  them.  Samuel,  the  late  bishop,  who  had  entered  at  Oriel 
about  this  time,  he  thought  rather  wild,  and  had  besides  a 
poor  opinion  of  his  talents.  This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at, 
as  no  two  men  could  be  more  dissimilar,  and  at  the  same  time 
more  strongly  marked  in  their  idiosyncrasies.  Rumour  was 
busy  with  Mr  Mulock's  followers  at  Oxford,  who  were  accused 
of  holding  a  doctrine  which  could  have  no  other  effect  than  to 
sap  the  very  foundations  of  society  if  it  were  practically 
applied.  A  letter  addressed  by  Mr  Mulock  from  that  seat  of 

learning,  "  to  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  Lord  Almighty,  in 

2  E 


434     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

and  near  Stoke"  and  a  pamphlet  published  by  Mr  Reade  of 
Hartshill,  with  whom  he  had  a  bitter  controversy,  would 
throw  some  light  on  this  subject  if  it  were  worth  investigating. 

In  1827  Mr  Canning's  letter,  announcing  that  he  had  scaled 
the  impossible  height  of  the  premiership,  as  Mr  Mulock 
deemed  it,  was  followed  by  the  offer  of  an  appointment  in  the 
Cabinet.  As  usual,  Mr  Mulock  made  difficulties.  He  wished 
to  pledge  Canning  to  the  abolition  of  the  Test  Act,  and 
not  succeeding,  he  lost  the  opportunity  which  most  other  men, 
possessed  of  his  energy  and  talents,  would  eagerly  have  seized. 
He  did  not  retire  from  the  secretaryship,  for  he  was  never 
appointed,  nor  did  he  break  with  Canning,  as  has  been 
alleged.  They  remained  friends  to  the  last,  and  had  been  on 
such  intimate  terms  that  Mr  Mulock  felt  justified  in  writing 
his  friend's  biography,  for  which  he  possessed  ample  mate- 
rials. Arrangements  were  already  made  for  the  publica- 
tion of  this  work,  when  the  late  Lord  Canning  (the  son  of 
the  great  statesman)  and  Lord  Stratford  de  Redcliffe 
threatened  him  with  an  injunction.  To  avoid  litigation 
he  agreed  to  reserve  what  he  still  deemed  his  right.  It  is  to 
be  hoped  that  the  manuscript,  like  his  own  autograph  remin- 
iscences, is  safe  in  the  keeping  of  some  member  of  the 
family,  and  that  it  will  not  in  the  future  be  subject  to  the  fate 
of  Byron's  diary. 

In  1840  Mr  Mulock,  abandoning  his  ministrations  at  Stoke 
and  Oxford,  came  to  London  and  took  a  small  house  at 
Earls'  Court,  not  far  from  the  pretty  residence  of  Mr  and  Mrs 
Carter  Hall.  Here  he  lived  for  three  or  four  years,  and  then 
moved  into  Southampton  Street,  Holborn,  where  he  opened 
an  office,  the  purpose  of  which  recalls  a  painful  episode  of  his 
life  at  Stoke.  The  office  was  announced  as  that  of  a  "  society 
for  the  protection  of  alleged  lunatics,  and  for  tJie  assistance  of 
those  whose  property  -was  unjustly  detained \  and  others? 
These  "others"  must  have  made  the  plan  an  exceedingly 
comprehensive  one.  One  of  his  coadjutors  in  this  good  work 
was  Mr  Perceval,  the  only  son  of  the  celebrated  minister 
who  fell  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin.  A  third  gentleman  in 


THOMAS  MULOCK  :   AN  HISTORICAL  SKETCH.  435 

the  association  was  a  Mr  Boulter,  who,  like  Mr  Perceval, 
contributed  a  large  sum  to  the  society.  Mr  Mulock  also 
contributed  according  to  his  means.  By  their  exertions 
several  persons  who  had  been  unjustly  confined  in  asylums 
were  restored  to  liberty ;  among  others,  a  German  named  Dr 
Peithmann,  who  had  been  confined  at  the  instance  of  certain 
officious  friends  of  the  Prince  Consort,  for  offensively  urging 
some  demand  upon  him.  These  charitable  exertions  were 
continued  till  the  end  of  1846  or  the  beginning  of  1847,  when 
Mr  Mulock  went  to  Ireland  to  look  up  his  old  friends,  and 
during  the  famine  was  a  guest  of  the  late  Mr  Litton,  the 
member  for  Coleraine,  and  a  stanch  supporter  of  the  Con- 
servative party.  In  1849  he  came  to  London,  and  after  a 
short  stay  in  the  metropolis  he  went  to  Edinburgh,  and 
thence  drifted  as  far  north  as  Inverness,  the  capital  of  the 
Highlands,  where  for  some  time  he  edited  the  Inverness 
Advertiser.  He  especially  distinguished  himself  by  writing  a 
series  of  articles  on  the  proprietors  and  people  of  the  Western 
Highlands  and  Islands  of  Scotland,  which  were  afterwards 
(1850)  collected  in  a  volume.  The  period  illustrated  by  these 
letters  is  that  of  the  famous  evictions.  The  circumstances 
were  analogous  on  a  smaller  scale  to  those  of  the  famine  in 
Ireland,  and  a  Highland  Destitution  Relief  Board  was  estab- 
lished, and  entrusted  with  the  administration  of  a  sum  of 
,£200,000.  Mr  Mulock  criticised  the  operations  of  the  board, 
as  he  criticised  the  proceedings  of  the  proprietors,  unsparingly. 
He  speaks  of  Sir  Charles  Trevelyan  as  one  "  qualified "  to 
administer  relief  to  the  starving  Highlanders  "  by  his  signal 
imbecility  !  "  and  talks  of  his  "  rushing  into  the  national  advan- 
tages of  systematised  starvation."  The  maximum  of  work 
for  the  minimum  of  food  was  the  rule  laid  down  by  Sir 
Charles,  and  to  enforce  this  rule,  a  number  of  half-pay  naval 
officers  were  foisted  upon  the  funds.  This  subject,  treated 
with  withering  scorn  by  Mr  Mulock,  was  not  the  only  question 
of  national  importance  which  engaged  his  pen  while  editing 
the  Highland  journal.  One  of  these  subjects  was  the  Free 
Church  question,  which  involved  him  in  a  hot  controversy  with 


436      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Hugh  Miller,  whom  he  denounced,  certainly  in  his  most 
decisive,  though  not  most  polished  manner,  for  that  "  venomous 
vulgarity  of  abuse,  which  has  hardly  a  parallel  in  the  recorded 
rancour  of  the  vilest  vituperation"  The  alliterations  in 
"  venomous  vulgarity,"  "  recorded  rancour,"  and  "  vilest 
vituperation,"  are  far  from  being  in  good  taste,  and  they 
who  knew  Mr  Mulock  will  understand  that  he  was  in  one 
of  his  most  "  tempestuous  tempers  "  when  he  penned  them. 
The  story  of  his  connection  with  the  Advertiser,  and  the 
circumstances  of  his  withdrawal  from  it,  as  told  by  him- 
self, fairly  exemplify  the  impracticable  side  of  his  character. 
Having  accepted  the  interim  editorship  during  the  illness 
of  the  proprietor,  Mr  M'Cosh,  he  was  entreated  by  that 
gentleman  to  withdraw  his  critique  on  the  life  of  Dr 
Chalmers,  which  Mr  M'Cosh  said  would  "not  only  give 
pain  to  his  oldest  and  dearest  friends,  but  also  peril  the 
interests  of  the  paper,  which,"  he  added,  "is  the  only 
dependence  I  have  to  leave  my  family  in  the  event  of  my 
own  removal."  Mr  Mulock  refused  compliance,  on  the 
ground  that  "  no  objection  was  urged  against  the  truth, 
soundness,  or  style  of  the  article."  It  accordingly  appeared. 
Mr  M'Cosh  died,  and  eventually  Mr  Mulock's  connection  with 
the  paper  was  abruptly  terminated.  Previous  to  his  tempor- 
ary assumption  of  the  editorship,  he  had  written  articles  in 
the  Witness  on  Irish  affairs,  which  gave  offence  to  Mr  Fox 
Maule,  afterwards  Lord  Panmure  and  Earl  of  Dalhousie,  at 
whose  suggestion  they  were  discontinued. 

In  the  year  of  the  great  exhibition,  1851,  Mr  Mulock  came 
with  all  the  world  to  London,  and  it  was  then  I  first  had  the 
pleasure  of  making  his  acquaintance,  at  the  house  of  the  sister 
already  mentioned  as  the  devoted  travelling  companion  of 
his  younger  days.  He  remained  in  the  metropolis  for  some 
months,  and  during  this  time  contributed  to  one  of  the 
London  papers.  In  a  series  of  brilliant  articles,  he  defended 
the  coup  d*6tat  of  December  2d  as  a  political  necessity  in  the 
then  state  of  France ;  and  a  curious  quarrel  arose  out  of  the 
circumstances  with  the  editor  of  the  journal  to  which  they 


THOMAS  MULOCK  :  AN  HISTORICAL  SKETCH.  437 

were  contributed.  As  usual  with  him,  Thomas  Mulock  was 
inflexible  and  uncompromising  in  maintaining  his  own  views. 
In  his  opinion  of  that  event,  Lord  Palmerston,  who  was  then 
Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs,  participated  ;  and 
after  a  few  days  his  lordship  addressed  a  complimentary 
letter  to  the  Prince  President,  sending  it  direct  to  the  Elys^e, 
instead  of  forwarding  it  through  the  customary  channel  of 
the  embassy.  Those  who  are  old  enough  to  remember  the 
excitement  in  the  French  army  and  the  addresses  of  the 
colonels,  whose  first  demand  on  the  victor  in  the  parliament- 
ary struggle  was  "  Vengeance  for  Waterloo  !  "  will  appreciate 
the  motive  of  our  foreign  minister.  But  Lord  Palmerston 
did  not  stop  at  this  point.  He  sent  other  despatches  to  Louis 
Napoleon  which  had  not  been  submitted  to  the  Queen  and 
the  Prince  Consort ;  and  for  these  acts  of  insubordination,  as 
they  were  deemed,  he  was  dismissed  from  the  Foreign  Office 
by  Lord  John  Russell.  The  alliance  of  France  and  England 
grew  naturally  out  of  these  circumstances  ;  and  if  Lord  Pal- 
merston deserves  praise  for  his  shrewd  forecast  of  the  future 
and  his  daring  initiative,  some  credit  is  also  due  to  those  who 
had  the  manliness  to  stand  by  his  side  and  brave  the  storm 
of  vituperation  with  which  he  and  they  were  alike  assailed. 

It  would  be  tedious  to  relate  the  whole  story  of  Mr 
Mulock's  connection  with  the  press.  There  was  hardly  a 
great  public  question  opened  for  discussion  which  he  did  not 
write  upon  in  his  trenchant  style.  His  subjects  range  from 
questions  of  high  state  policy  down  to  the  lowest  questions 
of  opinion  and  morals,  of  which  latter  a  luckless  example 
may  be  mentioned  in  the  famous  Chetwynd  divorce  case. 
Mr  Mulock  appears  to  have  had  documents  in  his  possession 
which  tempted  him  to  interfere  with  the  conduct  of  the  trial, 
and  brought  him  under  the  censure  of  the  court.  Committed 
for  contempt,  he  was  in  prison  several  months,  for  he  would 
neither  obey  the  order  of  the  court  to  avoid  the  heavy  fine 
with  which  he  was  threatened,  nor  pay  the  fine  when  he  was 
sentenced.  It  is  further  characteristic  of  him  that  he  con- 
nected what  he  deemed  the  failure  of  justice  in  this  case  with 


438      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

the  coming  doom  of  the  British  empire.  Toleration  of  an- 
other man's  opinion  was  for  him  the  toleration  of  all  that  was 
unjust  and  dishonourable,  and  revolting  to  divine  truth  itself. 
By  nature  he  was  a  despot,  intellectually,  socially,  religiously, 
and  politically.  The  law  of  give  and  take,  the  possibility 
that  other  men  might  have  reason  on  their  side  too,  could  not 
be  entertained  for  a  moment.  Considering  his  great  abilities, 
and  his  knowledge  of  men  and  things,  the  obduracy  of  his 
temperament  is  almost  unaccountable.  It  can  only  be  under- 
stood by  distinguishing  nicely  between  moral  and  intellectual 
insanity. 

And  yet  Mr  Mulock  was  a  kind-hearted,  genial,  and  most 
companionable  man.  He  was  fond  of  children  and  fond  of 
music,  and  thoughtful  and  considerate  about  other  people's 
comforts.  He  was  master  of  a  vast  store  of  anecdote  relative 
to  other  times  and  manners,  and  even  to  the  most  recent  occur- 
rences. It  would  scarcely  have  been  possible  to  name  a  cele- 
brity of  the  last  sixty  years  of  whom  he  had  not  some  interest- 
ing anecdote  to  relate.  His  conversational  powers  were  of  a 
rare  order  when  he  was  in  the  mood,  but  he  was  like  a  sleeping 
lion,  easily  roused  to  anger,  and  ready  for  a  serious  bout  of 
fence  with  his  best  friend  when  his  prejudices  were  touched. 
In  a  word,  his  weakness  was  excessive  egotism.  In  all  that  he 
did,  it  was  himself,  his  opinions,  his  convictions,  his  supposed 
rights,  that  he  guarded.  And  as  Wolsey  spoke  of  ego  et  rex 
metis,  so  Mr  Mulock  always  associated  his  cause  with  that  of 
the  Almighty.  There  was  a  something  wanting  in  him,  which 
I  can  only  designate  as  that  abandonment  of  self  which  is  the 
root  after  all  of  every  enduring  virtue.  A  careless  word 
touched  him  like  a  studied  insult,  and  a  slight  variation  in  the 
manner  of  doing  a  thing,  compared  with  his  own  sometimes 
strange  ways,  was  a  want  of  principle. 


ST  PROCOP  OF  BOHEMIA:  A  LEGEND  OF  THE 
ELEVENTH  CENTURY. 

BY  THE  REV.   A.  H.   WRATISLAW, 

Fellow  of  the  Royal  Historical  Society. 

THE  great  Hussite  movement  at  the  commencement  of  the . 
fifteenth  century  has  never  yet  been  satisfactorily  accounted 
for.  Even  Palacky,  writing  under  the  strict  and  vexatious 
censorship  of  the  press  at  Vienna,  has  been  unable  to  display 
in  their  fulness  the  various  forces  which  then  acted  in  the 
same  or  in  parallel  directions,  and  produced  that  tremendous 
explosion  which  shook  the  Church  of  Rome  to  its  founda- 
tions, and  placed  the  four  millions  of  Bohemian  or  Czeskish 
Slavonians  for  a  time,  both  morally  and  intellectually,  at  the 
head  of  the  nations  of  Europe.  That  movement  was  at  once 
national,  intellectual,  literary,  religious,  and  also  historical ; 
that  is  to  say,  one  of  the  forces  which  tended  to  produce  it 
was  traditional,  and  arose  from  the  fact  that  Bohemia  was 
originally  converted  by  Greek  missionaries,  possessed  a 
Slavonic  ritual  of  its  own,  and  permitted  the  use  of  the  chalice 
to  the  laity.  Hence  the  surname  of  the  ever-victorious, 
though  eventually  totally  blind,  leader  of  the  Hussites,  ZlSKA 
Z  KALICHU,  "  Ziska  *  of  the  Chalice,"  the  chalice  which  was 
borne  on  the  banners  of  the  Hussite  armies,  and  is  even  now 
the  only  ornament  allowed  in  the  simple  Protestant  chapels 
thinly  scattered  through  the  north  of  Bohemia. 

The  legend  of  St  Procop,  scenes  from  which  are  to  be 
found  depicted  or  sculptured  by  the  wayside  in  various  parts 
of  Bohemia,  exhibits  very  strongly  the  resistance  made  to  the 
introduction  of  the  Roman  ritual  to  the  exclusion  of  the 
Graeco-Slavonic  one.  It  is  also  in  itself  a  curious  legend,  but, 

*  It  is  not  generally  known  that  Ziska  is  merely  an  abbreviation  of  Sigismund. 


440      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

as  might  be  expected  in  the  case  of  a  saint  who  interfered 
actively  after  death  in  opposition  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  it 
is  not  to  be  found  in  such  works  as  Alban  Butler's  "  Lives  of 
the  Saints."  It  occurs  in  a  poetical  form  in  a  manuscript  of 
the  first  half  of  the  fourteenth  century,  but  corrupted  rhymes 
and  omitted  lines  indicate  that  the  composition  itself  must  be 
considerably  older.  It  has  been  twice  printed  this  century 
in  Bohemia. 

The  writer  commences  by  an  address  to  old  and  young  to 
listen  to  what  he  is  about  to  tell  them  of  St  Procop,  "  who 
was  born  in  Bohemia,  successfully  extended  his  order,  faith- 
fully fulfilled  the  holy  law,  and  wrought  great  miracles."  The 
holy  Procop,  he  continues,  was  of  a  Slavonic  family  in  the 
village  of  Chotun,  not  far  from  Bohmisch  Brod.  His  parents 
were  an  old  farmer  and  his  wife,  who,  according  to  Solomon's 
wish,  were  neither  over  rich  nor  over  poor,  but  occupied  in 
every  respect  a  middle  station.  They  were  God-fearing 
people,  and  brought  their  son  up  in  such  a  manner  that  he 
was  soon  remarkable  for  his  virtues  amongst  his  equals. 
Seeing  his  excellences  and  the  bent  of  his  mind,  they  sent 
him  to  Vyssegrad  (High-castle),  near  Prague,  to  a  distin- 
guished teacher,  under  whom  Slavonic  learning  and  literature 
were  flourishing.  Procop  paid  especial  attention  to  the  study 
of  the  Scriptures,  in  which  he  made  such  progress  that  all  the 
teachers  marvelled  thereat,  and'  remarked  upon  it  among 
themselves.  He  was  never  idle,  and  never  devoted  any  time 
to  amusement,  but  was  always  engaged  either  in  prayer  or 
study,  and  was  "  as  meek  and  quiet  as  if  he  had  been  a  monk." 
The  canons  began  to  take  notice  of  him,  and  on  account  of 
his  humility,  made  him  a  priest,  and  elected  him  a  canon  of 
St  Peter's,  and  they  would  have  elected  him  their  provost, 
had  he  not,  in  order  to  avoid  the  snares  of  the  world,  refused 
to  accept  the  position. 

Meanwhile,  he  met  with  a  virtuous  old  Benedictine  monk, 
and  requested  him  to  admit  him  into  his  order.  The  monk 
at  first  dissuaded  him  from  giving  up  the  prospects  before 
him  in  the  Church  in  Bohemia,  but  eventually  consented  to 


ST  PROCOP  OF  BOHEMIA.  441 

admit  him.  Procop  then  adopted  a  hermit's  life  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  his  native  district,  and  finally  settled  in  a  forest 
near  the  river  Sazava,  about  ten  English  miles  from  Kourim. 
Here  he  found  a  rock,  on  which  he  proposed  to  dwell,  pre- 
occupied by  devils.  Undaunted  by  this,  he  proceeded  to  clear 
away  the  forest  around,  and  built  a  chapel  in  honour  of  the 
Virgin  Mary.  For  many  years  he  remained  here  unknown  to 
all  men,  but,  as  a  city  upon  a  hill  cannot  be  hid,  neither  can 
a  fire  be  under  a  bushel,  so  did  not  God  allow  him  to  remain 
unknown  all  his  days. 

A  prince  named  Oldrich  (Odalric,  Ulric),  after  a  discussion 
with  his  attendants  as  to  where  they  should  hunt,  determined 
upon  doing  so  in  the  hilly  neighbourhood  of  the  Sazava.  In 
the  course  of  the  hunt,  the  prince  was  left  entirely  alone,  and 
a  marvellously  beautiful  and  well-fatted  stag  appeared  before 
him.  Oldrich  pursued  it,  crossbow  in  hand,  and  it  gradually 
retired  before  him,  always  just  keeping  out  of  range,  till  it 
reached  the  rock  on  which  Procop  was  at  work  felling  an  oak. 
It  sprang  behind  Procop,  and  turning  its  antlers  towards  him, 
displayed  a  cross  between  them. 

"  Seeing  that  beast  of  wondrous  race, 
And  the  monk  so  meek  of  face," 

Prince  Oldrich  threw  down  his  crossbow,  and  pulled  up  his 
horse.  He  then  proceeded  to  question  the  monk,  asking  him 
who  he  was  and  what  he  was  doing  there.  The  monk  replied 
that  he  was  a  sinner  named  Procop,  living  in  that  hermitage 
under  the  rule  of  St  Benedict.  Oldrich  dismounted,  and 
begged  him  to  hear  his  confession,  which  Procop  did,  and 
assigned  him  a  penance.  After  this,  the  prince  requested 
him  to  give  him  something  to  drink,  as  he  was  heated  with 
his  long  chase.  Procop  replied  that  he  had  no  other  drink 
save  the  water  which  he  drank  himself.  Taking  a  drinking  - 
cup,  he  sighed  from  his  heart,  blessed  the  water  with  his 
hand,  gave  it  to  the  prince,  and  bade  him  drink.  On  drink- 
ing, the  prince  was  astonished  at  finding  such  excellent  wine 
in  so  lonely  a  spot,  and  said  that  he  had  been  in  many  lands, 


442      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

but  had  never  drunk  better  wine.  Struck  by  these  miracles, 
he  bade  Procop  collect  more  brethren  about  him,  for  it  was 
his  intention  to  found  and  endow  a  convent  there,  which  at 
Procop's  recommendation  he  determined  to  dedicate  to  St  John 
the  Baptist.  Oldrich  took  counsel  with  his  lords  and  esquires, 
assembled  workmen,  and  had  the  building  erected  with  all 
possible  speed,  and  Procop,  against  his  will,  was  chosen  abbot. 
This  happened  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1009,  and  in  the  reign 
of  the  Emperor  Henry  II. 

Procop  exercised  all  virtues  and  all  hospitality  as  abbot, 
and  people  crowded  to  him,  "  as  chickens  to  a  hen,"  from  all 
quarters.  Various  miracles  of  his  are  related.  A  person 
named  Menna,  who  desired  to  see  him,  found  himself  unable 
to  cross  the  Sazava,  all  the  boats  being  moored  at  the  other 
side.  Suddenly  up  came  Procop  and  the  brethren,  chanting 
and  praising  God.  Menna  prayed  that  for  the  merits  of 
Procop  God  would  grant  him  the  means  of  crossing  the  water. 
In  a  moment  a  boat  released  itself  from  its  fastenings,  came 
to  him,  and  conveyed  him  across.  Procop  refused  to  accept 
the  credit  of  this  occurrence,  and  referred  his  brethren  to  the 
Scriptures,  in  which  the  power  of  true  faith,  if  only  as  a  grain 
of  mustard  seed,  is  exhibited. 

Another  miracle,  given  at  considerable  length  in  the  poem, 
is  the  casting  out  of  a  devil,  which  flew  up  to  the  church  top, 
but  eventually  fell  down,  and  burst  into  four  pieces. 

Another  set  of  devils  complained  bitterly  that  a  Bohemian 
was  now  set  over  them,  and  that  they  would  have  to  leave 
their  comfortable  residence,  where  Procop  and  his  brethren 
had  established  themselves.  Procop,  overhearing  what  they 
said,  made  himself  a  whip,  put  on  his  priestly  robes,  went 
into  the  cave  where  they  dwelt,  and  drove  them  away. 

Next  is  related  the  restoration  of  a  blind  woman  to  sight. 
But  just  as  the  reverence  for  Procop  was  at  its  height,  Prince 
Oldrich  died  without  completing  the  convent  as  he  had  in- 
tended. His  successor  was  his  son  Bretislaw,  who,  being 
informed  that  Procop  had  first  been  a  hermit,  and  then  his 
father's  confessor,  and  that  his  father  had  made  him  many 


ST  PROCOP  OF  BOHEMIA.  443 

promises,  in  particular  engaging  to  build  him  a  convent,  but 
had  died  before  he  had  been  able  fully  to  carry  out  his  inten- 
tions, proceeded  to  ask  the  advice  of  his  councillors,  who  urged 
him  to  finish  what  his  father  had  begun.  He  went  to  Procop, 
took  him  by  the  hand,  commended  himself  to  his  prayers, 
confessed  to  him,  addressed  him  as  "  Holy  Father,"  and  con- 
firmed him  in  all  possessions  and  privileges  as  abbot.  Procop 
humbly  besought  him  not  to  lay  so  great  a  burthen  upon  him, 
but  both  the  prince,  Severus,  Bishop  of  Moravia,  and  all  pre- 
sent, insisted  on  his  holding  the  dignity  and  accepting  the 
responsibility. 

It  happened  that  one  of  the  brethren,  who  had  a  particularly 
fine  voice,  distinguished  himself  in  chanting  the  mass,  till  many 
people  said  that  he  did  so  "  as  beautifully  as  an  angel  from 
heaven."  Procop,  hearing  that  he  was  priding  himself  on  this 
account,  rebuked  and  cautioned  him  before  the  assembled 
brethren. 

"  And  that  he  fear  henceforth  might  have, 
An  ass's  penance  they  him  gave. " 

Procop's  miracles  in  healing  the  sick  were  numerous ;  in 
fact,  the  author  of  the  poem  says  that  they  were  without 
number.  Finally  a  leper  came  to  him,  whom  he  entertained 
for  a  week,  and  when  the  man  wished  to  take  leave  and  return 
home,  Procop — having  given  away  everything  else  that  he  had 
— begged  him  to  stay  three  days  more,  till  he  himself  should 
be  buried,  and  then  he  should  have  his  gown  to  depart  with. 

Procop  was  informed  of  his  approaching  death  by  Divine 
revelation  two  days  before  it  happened.  He  communicated 
the  intelligence  to  two  of  his  friends,  Vitos  his  sister's,  and 
Jimram  his  brother's,  son,  and  also  informed  them  that  en- 
deavours would  be  made  to  drive  them  from  their  convent  by 
calumny,  and  that  they  would  be  compelled  to  seek  refuge  in 
a  foreign  land,  where  they  would  remain  six  years.  He 
exhorted  them  to  unity  and  love  among  themselves,  and  told 
them  the  names  both  of  the  prince  who  would  persecute  them, 
and  of  the  one  who  would  restore  them  to  their  convent.  His 


444      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

death  took  place  after  two  days'  struggle  with  the  devil,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  1055,  and  his  funeral  ceremony  was  per- 
formed by  Severus,  Bishop  of  Prague.  His  gown  was  given 
to  the  leper  above  mentioned,  and  in  a  moment  he  was  healed, 
and  his  flesh  became  "  as  the  flesh  of  a  little  child."  The  same 
person,  who  appears  to  have  been  also  blind,  desiring  to  see 
the  body  of  Procop  before  it  was  put  into  the  earth,  was 
temporarily  restored  to  sight  for  the  purpose,  but  the  cure  was 
not  permanent,  as  he  was  a  professional  beggar,  with  a  great 
disinclination  for  work. 

Procop's  personal  appearance  is  thus  described  :  "  He  was 
a  man  of  lofty  stature,  broad  shouldered,  strong  boned,  and  full 
bodied.  His  head  was  large,  his  complexion  fair,  and  beard 
black.  His  hair  was  blackish,  and  his  expression  bright  and 
cheerful.  His  address  was  kindly,  and  his  heart  entirely  free 
from  guile." 

After  his  death  the  brethren  took  counsel  together,  and 
elected  the  priest  Vitos  as  their  abbot.  This  man  had  been 
"the  friend  of  his  own  soul,  and  was  a  person  free  from  all 
wickedness,  a  wise  man  and  full  of  grace."  He  refused  the 
post,  but  was  compelled  by  the  brethren  and  the  Bishop  of 
Prague  to  accept  it.  But  in  spite  of  all  his  excellences,  mis- 
fortune came  upon  the  brethren,  which  is  thus  related  by  the 
writer : 

"  When  Bretislaw,  good  prince,  is  gone, 
Ungracious  Zbyhnew  mounts  the  throne, 
Who  little  holds  this  convent  dear, 
But  lends  to  calumnies  his  ear. 
'Twas  thus  the  faithless  work  they  plied, 
Thus  to  the  prince  they  falsely  cried  : 
'  O  prince,  there  are  Slavonians  here, 
Another  scripture  they  revere, 
And  divination  practise  still ; — 
Let  them  not,  prince,  thus  work  their  will  ! 
In  Slavic  tongue  the  mass  they  sing, 
Before  God's  table  clustering ; 
Heretical  their  conduct  bold, 


ST  PROCOP  OF  BOHEMIA.  445 

Such  service  in  this  land  to  hold.' 
'Gainst  Vitos  this  and  more  they  said, 
And  those  of  whom  he  was  the  head  ; 
Their  slanders  had  such  force  and  strength, 
They  drove  them  all  away  at  length. 
Abbot  and  brethren,  meeting  there, 
Themselves  to  holy  Procop's  care 
Commended,  then  with  hearts  of  woe 
Together  did  to  Hung'ry  go. 
To  others  then  was  given  their  place, 
To  foreigners  of  German  race. 
These  Germans  Latinists  were  known, 
And  glad  that  convent  made  their  own. 

O  faithless  trickery  of  hell ! 

O  human  envy,  sad  to  tell ! 

O  faithless  sland'rers  that  ye  be, 

The  devil's  emissaries  ye  ! 

The  devil  whispers  to  you  now, 

Ere  long  hell-fires  will  round  you  glow  ! 

Who  doth  God's  servants  harm  and  wrong 

Will  perish  from  this  world  ere  long. 

E'en  thus  those  sland'rers  it  befell, 

Who  in  this  world  not  long  did  dwell ; 

Procop  their  deed  right  ill  did  take, 

And  to  them  on  this  wise  he  spake. 
They  the  first  night  to  matins  rose, 

Each  to  the  church  in  order  goes, 

There  at  the  door  did  Procop  stand, 

And  prophesied  with  upraised  hand  : 

'  Say,  whence  ye  hither  came  to  dwell  ? 

What  here  hath  been  your  bus'ness,  tell  ? 

Yea,  who  hath  hither  sent  you,  say  ? 

Who  this  abode  hath  given  you,  pray? 

What  seek  ye,  sland'rers,  here  in  sight  ? 

What  claim  ye  in  this  place  of  right?' 
The  Germans  stood  with  fixed  gaze, 
But  not  a  word  a  German  says  ; 
They  all  were  awed  in  dire  affright 
At  holy  Procop's  voice  of  might. 


446      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

In  terror  great  they  speed  away, 
But  yet  thus  much  in  answer  say  : 
'  Bohemia's  Prince,  in  order  due, 
His  honourable  council  too, 
Us  in  this  convent  here  did  plant, 
And  it  to  us  till  death  did  grant.' 
When  he  a  foreign  language  heard, 
Procop  continued  thus  his  word : 
'  I  warn  you,  by  God's  power  and  grace ; 
Away,  ye  sland'rers,  from  this  place  ! 
If  this  ye  shall  neglect  to  do, 
God's  punishment  will  fall  on  you.' 
This  said,  he  vanish'd  from  their  sight ; 
The  Germans  service  held  aright, 
No  heed  unto  his  warnings  gave, 
But  thought  them  trick'ry  of  a  knave. 
A  second  night  was  well-nigh  spent, 
The  brethren  to  their  matins  went ; 
The  holy  Procop  came  once  more, 
Stood  in  the  church  above  the  door, 
Began  to  speak  right  angrily : 
'  Ye  faithless  Germans,  tell  me  why 
My  warning  thus  with  scorn  ye  treat. 
Here  is  for  you  no  dwelling  meet 
Yea,  ye  have  done  right  faithlessly, 
Hence  chased  my  sons  by  calumny. 
Hence,  sland'rers,  quickly  from  this  place  ! 
I  give  you  warning  now  by  grace.' 
Small  heed  thereto  the  Germans  paid, 
But  turned  to  sport  each  word  he  said. 

Till  the  third  night  he  came  in  sight, 
And  did  upon  them  show  his  might. 
To  them  again  he  'gan  to  say : 
'  Ye  Germans,  hearken  now,  I  pray. 
I  have  fulfill'd  God's  Holy  Writ,* 
But  ye  my  word  regard  no  whit. 

*  By  two  warnings — one  between  them  and  himself,  and  one  in  the  church — he 
could  now  treat  them  as  "heathen  men  and  publicans  "  (Matt.  xvii.  15-18). 


ST  PROCOP  OF  BOHEMIA.  447 

No  place  for  you  did  I  prepare, 
For  mine  own  sons  I  raised  it  fair ; 
But,  faithless  sland'rers,  not  for  you, 
Ye  are  a  vile  Hungarian*  crew  ! 
The  prince  the  convent  gave,  ye  say ; 
But  now  I  chase  you  hence  away. 
Good  words  could  not  your  pride  abate, 
Sazava's  home  I'll  make  you  hate. 
Up !  on  your  road  no  moment  waste  ! 
Take  yourselves  off  to  Prague  with  haste  ! ' 
This  said,  his  hand  a  cudgel  bore, 
With  which  he  thrash'd  the  Germans  sore. 
No  word  the  Germans  dared  reply, 
But  each  man  foremost  strove  to  fly; 
No  question  ask'd  they  of  the  way, 
But  skipp'd  along  like  goats  at  play." 

They  then  went  to  the  prince  and  told  him  to  give  the  con- 
vent to  whom  he  would — he  would  not  get  them  to  return 
thither,  for  they  had  been  lucky  to  escape  with  their  lives. 
"  That  Procop,"  said  they,  "  who  lies  there,  will  not  allow  us 
to  possess  his  territories ;  and  no  one  whom  he  does  not  favour 
can  hold  that  convent.  We  have  been  in  fear  of  him ;  let 
every  man  beware  of  such  punishment."  The  prince,  hearing 
this,  marvelled  much,  but  did  not  think  fit  to  repent  and  turn 
to  God,  "  wherefore  God  shortened  his  days."  Wratislaw  suc- 
ceeded him  as  Prince  of  Bohemia,  sought  out  Vitos  and  the 
brethren,  brought  them  back  from  Hungary,  and  replaced 
Vitos  in  his  abbacy.  "  And  thus  was  fulfilled  the  prophecy 
of  the  holy  Procop." 

However,  Procop's  saintly  interference  in  support  of  the 
Slavonic  ritual  was  only  successful  for  a  time.  Discord  broke 
out  among  the  brethren,  and  in  1097  tnat  ritual  was  entirely 
suppressed.  But  in  1394  the  Emperor  Charles  IV.  founded 
a  Slavonic  convent  in  the  new  town  of  Prague,  with  a  view  to 
the  eventual  reconciliation  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  Churches. 

*  "Hungarian"  seems  to  have  been  a  term  of  reproach  in  Bohemia,  like 
"  Dutchman  "  in  England  after  the  accession  of  William  of  Orange. 


448      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

In  this  convent  he  placed  monks  from  Dalmatia,  Croatia,  and 
other  Slavonic  countries,  who  made  use  of  their  own  Slavonic 
ritual  and  the  Glagolitic  handwriting.  Among  other  gifts, 
Charles  presented  the  convent  with  the  only  relic  of  the  old 
Bohemian  Slavonic  ritual  still  remaining,  the  Book  of  the 
Gospels,  said  to  have  been  written  by  St  Procop  in  the  Cyrillic 
character  with  his  own  hand.  This  Slavonic  codex,  after 
various  changes  of  fortune,  obtained  the  high  honour  of 
becoming  the  book  upon  which  the  kings  of  France  took 
their  coronation  oath  at  Rheims. 


INDEX. 


ABRAHAM,  religion  of,  196,  197. 
Abyndon,  family  of,  at  Bristol,  269. 
Act,  to  encourage  husbandry,  of  Henry 

VII.,  146,  147. 

Addamys,  Mayor  of  Bristol,  269. 
Aigas,  lands  of,  48. 
Alexander  II.,  King  of  Scotland,  6,  16, 

17,  35,  43,  59,  329,  330,  332. 

III.,  332. 

Altars,  first  erection  of,  by  Noah,  194, 

195,  368,  37°. 
Andrew,  Bishop  of  Moray,  26,  33,  62. 

,  charters  of,  36,  37,  63,  64. 

Argyll,  Duke  of,  286. 

Arran,  Regent,  275,  286. 

Articles,  the  Six,  265. 

"  Assertiones  Theologicse,"  344-346. 

Athol,    Patrick,    Earl  of,   murdered  by 

the  Bysets,  41-43. 
Augurs,  378,  379,  385. 

Bacon,  "  Realistic  School"  of  Philo- 
sophy, 76,  77-79. 

Balfour,  Lord,  of  Glenawly,  347. 

Ball,  Rev.  Thomas,  of  Newland,  236. 

,  Rev.  Peregrine,  238,  241,  254- 

256. 

Balnaves,  Henry,  274. 

Barnes,  Dr,  263. 

Beaton,  David,  Cardinal,  262,  275,  281, 
283,  290,  295-304,  308,  315,  316,  335, 
336. 

,  Margaret,  304,  305. 

Beaulieu,  Abbey  of,  in  Hampshire,  15. 

Beauly,  Priory  of,  or  Bellus  Locus,  7, 

14-57- 
Bennet's  College,  Cambridge,  Wishart 

at,  263,  273. 

Bequest  of  lands,  power  of,  152,  153. 
Berkeley,  79,  80. 
Berwick,  Convention  of,  339. 
Bickerton,  Margaret,  348. 
Bigod,  Roger,  6. 
Bissarts  of  Beaufort,  38. 
Bisset,  Hugo,  burgess  of  Elgin,  66. 

2 


Boc -lands,  in. 

Bothwell,  Earl  of,  290,  291,  293,  294. 

Bracton,    lawyer,    temp.     Henry    III., 

quoted,  134. 

Braikenridge,  G.  W.,  246. 
Bricius,   Bishop  of  Moray,   17,  21,  33, 

39,  40. 

Broke,  David,  of  Bristol,  272. 
Bucer,  Martin,  318. 
Buchanan,  David,  305,  306. 
-,  George,  305. 


Bullinger,  Swiss  Reformer,  318. 
Bunyan,  John,  historical  notices  of,  416- 

423. 
Burial,  ancient  modes,  391-415. 

among  the  Scythians,  396,  397. 

Byset,  Anselm,  24. 

,  Cecilia,  51. 

,  Elizabeth,  51. 

,  family  of,  in  England,  19,  20. 

,  Henry,  46. 

— ,  John,  52. 

,  John,  Forester  of  England,  44. 

,  John,  the  younger,  45,  50,  51. 

,  John,  of  Lovat,  founder  of  Beauly 

Priory,   7,  14,  16,  17,   18,  19,  21-28, 

35,  38,  41-46,  51. 
,  Mary,  of  Lovat,  52. 

— ,  Muriel,  51. 

,  Peter,  24. 

,  Robert,  of  Upsetlington,  35,  51. 

-,  Thomas,  46. 


,  Walter,  of  Aboyne,  19,  34,  62. 

,  Walter,   of  Stratherrick,    34,   35, 

41,  46. 

,  William,  24,  25,  26,  34,  35,  46. 

,  William,  charter  of,  to  Beauly,  32. 

Bysets,  arms  of,  33. 
Bysets  of  Antrim,  51. 

Cairns,  memorial,  198,  199. 
Cairns,  Mungo,  of  Brounside,  280. 

,  Hew,  of  Kinzeancleugh,  280. 

,  Sir  Hugh,  of  Loudon,  280. 

Calendar,  Mayor's,  of  Bristol,  265,  266. 


450 


INDEX. 


Cambuskenneth,  Chartulary  of,  1 1. 
Campbell,  George,   of  Monkgarswood, 

280. 

Cassilis,  Earl  of,  280,  289. 
Charles  IV.,  Emperor,  447. 
Charter  of    Lawrence   the   Knight,    to 

Beauly,  46,  47. 

of  Henry  of  Tottingham,  53,  54. 

of  David  de  Innerlunan,  56,  57- 

Charteris,  John,  of  Kinfauns,  309,  310. 
Chartreuse,  la  Grande,  I. 
Chester,  William,  of  Bristol,  272. 
Chisholm,  Robert  de,  67,  68,  69. 
Chisholms,  family  of,  in  Inverness,  43. 
Churches,  early  Christian,  225-228. 
Clark,  Bishop  of  Bath,  265. 
Cockburn,   Alexander,  younger  of  Or- 

miston,  291,  292. 
,  John,  of  Ormiston,  284,  286,  289, 

292. 

,  Sir  John,  292. 

Coke,  Mayor  of  Bristol,  269. 
Conspiracy    against    Cardinal    Beaton, 

SO?,  315,  3i6,  338. 
Corrichie,  battle  of,  340. 
Cradle  of  Henry  V.,  historical  notices 

of,  231-259. 

Cranmer,  Archbishop,  263,  265. 
Cremation  in  the  ancient  world,  403,  404. 
Crichton,  Alexander,  of  Brunstone,  284, 

285,  307-3I3- 

,  Capt.  Alexander,  of  Hallyard,  341. 

Cromwell,  Thomas,  Earl  of  Essex,  268. 

Culdees,  the,  in  Scotland,  5. 

Cumin,  Walter,  Earl  of  Menteith,  62. 

De  Burgh,  Hugh,  6. 

Deans,  Christian,  40. 

Descartes,  "  Idealistic  School "  of  Philo- 
sophy, 77. 

Divinations,  382,  384,  386. 

Domestic  life  in  the  ancient  world,  364. 

Dominicans,  order  of,  in  Scotland,  6, 
7,8. 

Dominus,  ecclesiastical  title,  55. 

Dufglas  (Douglas),  Archibald  of,  62. 

Douglas,  Francis,  of  Longniddry,  286. 

,  Hugh,  284-286,  289. 

,  James,  Earl  of  Morton,  286,  287. 

,  Jean,  344. 

,  Sir  George,  of  Pittendreich,  274, 

287,  288. 

Dunbar,  Gavin,  Archbishop  of  Glasgow, 
279,  295,  296. 

,  Patrick,  Earl  of,  43,  62. 

Dundee,  Wishart  at,  278,  281,  282. 

Dunwalls  Molnutus,  laws  of,  104. 

Durward,  Allan,  Ostiarius,  6. 


Eden,  garden  of,  193,  194. 

Edinburgh  Castle,   Wishart  imprisoned 

in,  294. 

Ellyott,  Hugh,  269. 
,  Robert,  269. 


Elphinstone  Tower,  292,  293. 
Embalming,  process  of,  398-400. 
Enclosures  Acts,  171,  172. 
Epigrams   of  Wishart  on   the  Papacy, 

275-277. 
Erskine,  John,  of  Dun,  262,  283. 

Fergent,  Alan,  Duke  of  Bretagne,  130. 
Feudalism,  derivation  of  term,  1 1  i-i  16. 
Fleming,  Bartholomew  the,  32. 
Folc-gemot,    Old    English    Parliament, 

in,  130-132. 
Folc -lands,  III,  130. 
Fordoun,  John  of,  chronicler,  331. 
Forbes,  John,  of  Pitsligo,  48. 
,  William,  of  Kinaldie,  48. 


Forrest,  David,  288. 
Fortescue,  Lord  Chief- Justice,  143. 
Foxe,  John,  the  Martyrologist,  273,  305. 
Fraser,  Agnes,  of  Philorth,  48. 
•,  Hugh,  Lord  Lovat,  48. 


Freemen,    113-116,   120,  124,  129,  130, 

136,  137,  142,  143. 
Funerals    among  the  classical  nations, 

400-402,  406,  407. 

Gairdner,  Major-General  W.  J.,  354. 
Galloway,  Alan  de,  45. 

,  Thomas  de,  41. 

Gavelkind,  custom  of,  158. 
Gervys,  Sheriff  of  Bristol,  272. 
Gillichrist,  Earl  of  Angus,  58. 
Glassel,  John,  286. 
Glencairn,  Earl  of,  274,  279,  289. 
Gordon,  John,  Dean  of  Sarum,  344. 
Grant,  Gregory  le,  52. 

,  Robert  le,  51,  52. 

,  Sir  Laurence,  51. 

,  William  de,  46,  51. 

Gray,  Lord,  309,  310. 

Gregory  IX.,  Pope,   Bull  of,  addressed 

to  the  Prior  of  Beauly,  13-15. 
Grove-worship,  196,  197,  367. 
Guiscard,    Robert,    Duke  of  Calabria, 

329. 

Haddington,  Wishart  at,  288,  289. 
Haliburton,  Margaret,  352. 
Hamilton,  Archbishop,  286. 

,  Patrick,  martyr,  261. 

-,  Sir  David,  of  Preston,  295. 


,  Sir  William,  of  Sanquhar,  274. 

Harris,  David,  of  Bristol,  271. 


INDEX. 


451 


Hart,  of  Bristol,  269. 
Hastings,  David  de,  Earl  of  Athol,  43. 
Helvetian  Confession,  267,  273,  318-328. 
Helyot  ("  History  of  the  Monastic  Or- 
ders"), 8. 
Henry,  Earl  of  Derby,  237,  250,  251, 

259- 
Henry  III.  grants  Lowdham  to  Walter 

Byset,  45. 

Henry  V.,  birth  of,  250. 
Hepburn,  John,  Bishop  of  Brechin,  263. 

,  George,  Chancellor  of  Brechin,  362. 

Hertford,  Earl  of,  309,  310. 
Historical  Notices  and  Charters  of  the 

Priory  of  Beauly,  1-74. 
Hoel  Dha,  laws  of,  107. 
Howitt,  William,  430. 
Human  sacrifice,  197,  198. 

Idols,  ancient,  365-367. 
Innocent  III.,  Pope,  3,  4. 
Inverness,  Patrick,  Porter  of,  46,  47. 
Inverness,  vicarage  of,  49,  50. 

Jeffryes,  Thomas,  Mayor  of  Bristol,  264. 
John,  Bishop  of  Moray,  66. 

,  King  of  England,  4. 

Johnstone,  John,  epigram  on  Wishart, 

317. 
Johnstones  of  Elphinstone,  293. 

Kaaba,  the,  213,  214. 

Kant,  Immanuel,  his  relation  to  modern 

history,  75-96. 

,  biographical  notice  of,  80-82. 

,  works  of,  8l. 

,  system  of  philosophy,  83-96. 

Kearne,    Sir  John,    Dean    of   Bristol, 

264,  265. 
Kirkaldy,    William,    of    Grange,    309, 

3io»  313,  315,  342. 
Kinnear,  John,  of  that  ilk,  282. 
Knight's  fee,  163,  164. 
Knox,  John,  285,  288,  289,  305,  306, 

307,  3i6,  338. 
Kyle,  Wishart  in,  279,  280. 

Land  Clauses  Act,  the,  179. 
Land  and  Labour,  174-178. 
Landholding,    history  of,    in    England, 
97-187. 

systems  of,  103. 

aboriginal  system,  103-105. 

Roman  system,  105-108. 

Scandinavian  system,  108-117. 

—   Norman  system,  117-132. 

under  the  Plantagenets,  132-143. 

under  the  Tudors,  144-163. 


Landholding  under  the  Stuarts,  163-169. 
under  House  of  Hanover,  167-178. 


Langside,  battle  of,  342. 

Latimer,  Hugh,  Bishop  of  Worcester, 

263. 
Lauder,  John,  298-302. 

,  Sir  Thomas,  of  the  Bass,  68,  69. 


Law,  definition  of,  101,  102. 
Learmont,  Elizabeth,  262,  335. 

,  family  of,  Balcomie,  262. 

,  family  of,  Ercildoune,  262. 


,  James,  262. 

,  James,  of  Balcomie,  262,  274,  313, 

31.5- 

Lectistemium,  378. 
Leibnitz,  78,  79. 
Leith,  Wishart  at,  284. 
Lemuria,  414. 

Lepers,  house  of,  at  Rathven,  17,  24,  25. 
Lesley,  John,  Bishop  of  Ross,  273,  317. 
Leslie,  John,  315,  316. 

,  Norman,  315,  316. 

Lindsay,  David,  of  Crawford,  304. 
of  Pitscottie,  306. 


Lockhart,  John,  of  Barr,  279. 
Loretto,  chapel  of,  287. 
Lovat,  family  of,  12,  13. 
,  Simon,  Lord,  12,  13. 


Lupercalia,  375. 
Lyndsay,  Janet,  334. 

Macfarlane  of  Macfarlane,  u,  29. 
Mackenzie,    Sir   George,    first   Earl   of 

Cromarty,  29. 

"  Magister,"  signification  of,  55. 
Magna  Charta,  135. 
Maitland,  Richard,  of  Thirlstane,  34. 
,  Sir  Richard,  of  Lethington,  288, 


289. 

Malvoisin,  William,   Bishop  of  St  An- 
drews, 3-6. 

Marischal,  Earl,  278,  279,  309. 

Martyrdom  of  Wishart  at  St  Andrews, 
303,  304- 

Meldrum,  Grizel,  262. 

Melville,  James,  of  Raith,  315. 

Montealto,  William  de,  Sheriff  of  Crom- 
arty, 29,  57. 

Montgomery,  the  Sieur  Gabriel  de,  296. 

Montrose,  Wishart  at,  277,  278. 

Moray,  Alan  de,  57. 
,  Andrew  de,  57. 


,  Elizabeth,  Countess  of,  73. 

,  John  de  Dunbar,  Earl  of,  68. 

-,  Walter  de,  57. 


Mourning,  ancient  customs,  408-415. 
Mulock,  Thomas  :  an  historical  sketch, 
424-438. 


452 


INDEX. 


Mulock,    Thomas,    satirical    letters  of, 
426-429. 
— ,  family  of,  433. 

Nottingham,  Henry  de,  55. 

Ochterlony,  Janet,  333. 

Odh all  (or  Udall}  lands,  112,  113. 

Omens,  379-382. 

Orientation    of    ancient   temples,    1 88- 

230. 
Ormiston  House,  291,  292. 

Paston  Memoirs,  140,  141. 
Payne,  Antony,  Sheriff  of  Bristol,  272. 
Pitarrow,  House  of,  275. 
Pluscardine,  Priory  of,  6,  58-74. 

— ,  John,  Prior  of,  73. 
Priory,  foundation  charter  of,  60- 

62. 

,  Robert,  Prior  of,  58. 

,  Robert,  73,  74. 

,  Simon,  Prior  of,  65,  66. 

,  William  de  Boys,  Prior  of,  73. 

and  Urquhart,  united  Priories  of, 

72,  73- 

Poor-Laws  under  the  Tudors,  159-163. 
Primogeniture,  laws  of,  184,  185. 
Prodigies,  384. 

Property,  definition  of,  99,  IOO. 
Pryn,  Sheriff  of  Bristol,  269. 
Punishments  in  the  ancient  world,  387- 

389. 

Pykes,  Sheriff  of  Bristol,  273. 
Pyramid  of  Cheops,  394,  395. 

Quinci,   Roger   de,  Constable  of  Scot- 
land, 62. 

Randolph,  Thomas,  Earl  of  Moray,  64. 
Rankin,  Laurence,  of  Shiell,  280. 
Reginald  (or  Ranald),  King  of  the  Isles, 

46. 

Repps,  Bishop  of  Norwich,  265. 
Riccart,  Robert,  265. 
Robert,  Bishop  of  Ross,  23,  26. 

-  III.,  332. 
Roger,  Bishop  of  St  Andrews,  295. 

— ,  John,  a  Black  Friar,  294,  295. 
Romans,  agrarian  laws  of,  105,  106. 
Ross,  Hugh  de,  47. 

— ,  Hugh,  of  Philorth,  47. 
,  Johanna,  of  Philorth,  47. 

— ,  William  de,  Earl  of,  47,  48. 
Rosse,  Gillichrist  a,  54. 
Rothes,  Earl  of,  310. 

— ,  Master  of,  309,  310. 
Ryppe,  William,  268. 


Sacrifices,  ancient   modes  of,  370-376, 

378. 

Sadler,  Sir  Ralph,  286,  308. 
Salisbury,  Countess  of,  249. 
,  Earls  of,  250. 


Sampson,  Bishop  of  Chichester,  265. 
Sandilands,  John,  of  Calder,  289,  292, 

309,  310. 
Scandinavian     invasions    of    England, 

108-110. 

Scalacronica,  the,  quoted,  17. 
Scotichronicon  of  Fordun,  quoted,  42. 
Seyer,  "History  of  Bristol, "  266. 
Shekinah,  the,  189,  193,  203,  204. 
Socinianism,  Wishart  accused  of,  266- 

268. 

Somerled,  Lord  of  the  Isles,  6. 
Spinoza,  78. 

Spottiswoode,  John,  Advocate,  12. 
Sprynge,  Mayor  of  Bristol,  273. 
Stewart,  Alex.,  Wolf  of  Badenoch,  69. 
,  Walter,  son  of  Alan,  62. 


Strachan,   Robert,   Rector  of  Montrose 

School,  363. 

Strathbolgy,  David  de,  24. 
Stuart,  Lord  James,  340,  341. 
St  Nicholas  church,  Bristol,  264,  266, 

267. 
St  Procop  of  Bohemia,  legend  of,  439- 

448.  . 

Superstitions,  ancient,  390. 
Supplication,  early  modes  of,  205,  206. 
Suppression  of  monasteries  in  England, 

158. 

Sutherland,  William,  Earl  of,  57. 
Sylke,  family  of,  at  Bristol,  269. 
Synagogues,  223,  224. 

Tabernacle,  the,  210-216. 

Tasker,  Thomas,  269. 

Temples,  ancient,  217-223,  367,  368. 

Thomas,  Sir,  Prior  of  Pluscardine,  68, 

69. 

Thorne,  Nicholas,  269. 
Thyrlstan,  Thomas  de,  6,  33,  34,  39. 
Tonell,  269. 
Trial  of  Wishart  at  St  Andrews,  269- 

302. 
Tylney,  Emery,  273,  274,  283,  312,  317, 


Umphraville,  Gilbert  de,  Earl  of  Angus, 

3I9- 
Urban  IV.,  Pope,  Bull  of,  to  Pluscar- 

dine, 65. 

Urns,  funeral,  404,  405. 
Urquhart,  Adam,  founder  of  that  family 

in  Cromarty,  29. 


INDEX. 


453 


Urquhart,  Priory  of,  70,  71. 
Usher  (Wishart),  George,  331. 

Valliscaulians  (Benedictines),  Order  of, 

in  Scotland,  6-8. 
Valliscaulium,  2. 
Vassals,  118,  123-125,  129. 
Viard,  Carthusian  monk,  2. 
Villeins,  138,  139. 
Vischart,  George,  357- 
Vitri,  Cardinal  Jacques  de,  8. 

Wardlaw  MS.,  the,  20. 

Wardship,  right  of,  by  the  Crown,  164, 

165,  168. 

Wars  of  the  Roses,  142. 
Watson,  James,  283. 
W'hite,  Thomas,  268,  269. 
Wighton,  John,  281,  282. 
Wilberforce,  William,  433. 
William  the  Lion,  3,  17,  1 8,  24. 

,  daughters  of,  21. 

Winram,  John,  296,  297,  306. 
Wischard,  name  of,  329. 

,  John,  329,  330. 

Wischart,  William,  330,  331. 

,  James,  362. 

Wishart,  Alexander,  333,  336,  341,  344, 

349,  353,  356,  357- 

,  Agnes,  358. 

,  Anne,  353. 

,  Archibald,  353,  354. 

,  Christian,  343. 

,  Christina,  336. 

,  Cordelia,  350,  351. 

,  Elizabeth,  363. 

,  Elspeth,  343. 

,  Euphan,  358. 

,  Fergusia,  350,  351. 

,  George,  336,  337,  341,  352,  353, 

362. 

,  George,  martyr,  262-318,  335. 

,  Gilbert,  354,  358,  361. 

,  Helen,  343. 


Wishart,  House  of,  329-363. 

,  Hugo,  361. 

,  Isobel,  343. 

,  James,  334,  342,  343,  344,  348, 


35i,  353,  354,  36i,  363- 
,   James,  of  Carnebeg,    313,    334, 

335,  336- 

,  James,  of  Pitarrow,  333,  335,  336. 

— ,  Jane,  343. 
— ,  Janet,  335,  352,  353. 
— ,  Jean,  361,  363. 
— ,  John,  313,  353,   355,  356,   358, 
361. 

— ,  John,  of  Bathaggarties,  338. 
— ,  Katherine,  356,  358. 

-,  Margaret,  336,  346,  353,  361,  363. 


,  Mirabell,  358. 

,  Patrick,  353,  361. 

,  Rev.  James,  337. 

,  Robert,  Bishop  of  Glasgow,  354, 

355,  3.6i. 
,  Sir  George,  of  Cliftonhall,  Bart., 

350- 

,  Sir  John,  of  Pitarrow,  307,  313, 

333-336,  338,  342,  348. 
•,  Thomas,  358. 


,  William,  334,  344,  352-354,  356, 

363. 

Woddus,  Sheriff  of  Bristol,  269. 

Wolf,  Professor  Christian,  78. 

Worship,  ancient  modes  of,  376,  377. 

Wychard,  name  of,  329. 

Wyntoun,  chronicler,  331. 

Wyscard,  Sir  John,  332. 

,  William,  Archdeacon  of  St  An- 
drews, 52. 

Wyschard,  Adam,  332,  354. 

Wyschart,  David,  333. 
-,  Sir  John,  333. 


Wyscheart,  George,  362. 
Wyshert,  John,  356. 

Young,  William,  of  Bristol,  272. 
Ziska,  438. 


THE   END. 


M'Parlant  &•  Erskine,  Printers,  Edinburgh. 


DA 
20 
R9 


Royal  Historical  Society, 
London 

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